Rassie Erasmus highlights similar statistics between Springboks and England ahead of World Cup semi-final
Rassie Erasmus highlights similar statistics between Springboks and England ahead of World Cup semi-final
Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus is adamant his players will not be complacent due to the negativity surrounding the ability of their Rugby World Cup semi-final opponents England.
To continue their championship defense, South Africa is the clear favorite to defeat the Red Rose in Saturday’s match at the Stade de France.
With their bad form going into the World Cup, many fans and commentators were betting on England to lose in the pool stages. They have, though, turned the tide and are now the only undefeated team remaining in the final four, as well as the lone representative from the northern hemisphere.
Expecting a ‘very tough test’
Although England has benefited from a favorable path that has allowed for relatively easy advancement, Erasmus is bracing for a “very tough test” and emphasized this point by pointing out the similar statistics between the two nations.
“If we believe that England is flawed because foreigners claim that the country is struggling… At a press conference on Monday, he stated, “Our reality is the truth, not the reality that people create outside our camp.”
“We are aware that many of our players compete against them in the Premiership, and we also know that Borthwick is a superb coach, having demonstrated this when leading Leicester and representing England as a player and captain.
“We’re going to face an extremely difficult test against a team that hasn’t dropped a game, given up roughly the same number of tries and scored the same number of points (as us).”
England scored 19 tries and received 180 points, whereas we scored 26 tries and received 180 points as well.
Then, if you look at the amount of points given up, we’ve given up seven, they’ve given up six tries, and they’ve given up 63 points, to our 62.
Therefore, even though I am aware that statistics don’t always provide the whole story, you can determine how close this game (will be) based just on the numbers.
Three-time champion South Africa eliminated hosts France from the competition, setting up a rematch of the 2019 championship game, which they won 32–12.
Top of the world rankings
With an incredible 29-28 victory on Sunday night, the Springboks overcame their group phase opponents Ireland to take the top spot in World Rugby’s official standings.
Regarding the matchup with Fabien Galthie’s team, Erasmus stated, “It was two teams that tactically, physically, and mentally tried to really push one another to the edge.”
“I had a beer with the team after we defeated a really well-coached team, and I must say that the respect Galthie showed and the way he spoke to us afterwards was really humble and sincere.”