England v South Africa: preview, stats and analysis

02 November 2018, 11:41

England open their November Quilter Internationals with a fourth Test of the year against South Africa.

Eddie Jones' side will also face New Zealand, Japan and Australia over the next month, but first up are the Springboks.

Jones has given a first start to number eight Mark Wilson, while fellow forward Ben Moon and Zach Mercer could make their England debuts.

Dylan Hartley and Owen Farrell are both named as co-captains with Jack Nowell returning to the starting XV after a nine-month absence.

Chris Ashton is also named as a finisher, having been called into the matchday squad following a late injury to Manu Tuilagi.

"Manu picked up a very minor strain to his groin yesterday during training," said scrum coach Neal Hatley.

"We are expecting him to be right for New Zealand week. If tomorrow was a World Cup final then we probably would have kept him in."

Ashton has returned to English rugby this season after a year with Toulon and the Sale Sharks back scored a hat-trick in his last outing the Challenge Cup against Connacht.

If the 31-year-old does come on as a finisher it will be his first England cap in four years, as he last played on the 2014 tour of New Zealand.

Siya Kolisi captains South Africa, who have picked a strong team including heavyweight forwards Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit.

When? Saturday, 3 November
Where? Twickenham Stadium
Kick-off? 3pm

Follow the action

Live on Sky Sports HD.
Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live
Live text commentary on EnglandRugby.com
Live score updates from @EnglandRugby on Twitter
Match report, post-match highlights and interviews on EnglandRugby.com

My story

England and Exeter Chiefs centre Henry Slade talks about balancing diabetes with being a professional sportsman.

MY STORY ✍@ExeterChiefs and England centre @Sladey_10 on what it means to balance type one diabetes with a life in rugby...

➡ https://t.co/REiQRkSBwu pic.twitter.com/CELdlEIj4n
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 2, 2018

Views from the camp

England head coach Eddie Jones: “We’ve become very well organised in our set piece and have done a lot of good work in Portugal over the last week.

"We have put in a new defence system and our attack looks more organised than it was on the South Africa tour.

“Against South Africa you have got the physical battle up front and then you have to be tactically smart in how you attack against them. We need to find ways to gain momentum, then once we find momentum, convert that to points.

“We are really excited to be back at Twickenham Stadium. It’s been a long time and we can’t wait to play in front of 82,000 fans.”

England lock Maro Itoje: “These are the types of challenges you want to face, especially after the summer where we probably didn’t put our best foot forward with the first two Tests, so this is another good opportunity to get better and show what we’re truly about.

“I’ve played with quite a few South Africans over the years so I guess it gives you an insight into the way they think about rugby and their mentality.

“Whenever South Africa play, whether it’s U20s or the senior side there is always that physical challenge.”

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus: "This match will be a huge tactical affair with much of the outcome depending on how you handle the set phases and kicking game.

“I wouldn’t say they have a weakness; maybe us not knowing them so well might be to their advantage. It’s not people you see every weekend at Test match level. There are a few new faces we haven’t faced before, but doing our homework on them, they look quality players.”

Key stats

England have won just 34% (14 of 41) of their encounters with South Africa, only against New Zealand (18%, 7 of 40) do they have a lower win rate in Test rugby.

England have won 14 of their last 15 games at Twickenham, losing only their most recent match there against Ireland, their first defeat at home since the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Maro Itoje (13) and Tom Curry (10) have won more turnovers than any other player in the Premiership this season, with each winning a league-high six jackal turnovers as well.

Owen Farrell is just 10 points away from reaching 700 for his country, only Jonny Wilkinson (1,179) has reached this milestone for England. He has scored 94 points in his nine previous games against the Springboks.

Previous meetings

Ready for the big kick-off tomorrow? ⏱#CarryThemHome #QuilterInternationals pic.twitter.com/xjcSaD5uqj
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 2, 2018

Jun 2018 South Africa 10-125 England, Newlands
Jun 2018: South Africa 23-12 England, Free State Stadium
Jun 2018: South Africa 42-39 England, Ellis Park Stadium
Nov 2016: England 37-21 South Africa, Twickenham
Nov 2014: England 28-31 South Africa, Twickenham
Nov 2012: England 15-16 South Africa, Twickenham
Jun 2012: South Africa 14-14 England, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Jun 2012: South Africa 36-27 England, Ellis Park
Jun 2012: South Africa 22-17 England, Kings Park
Nov 2010: England 11-21 South Africa, Twickenham
Nov 2008: England 6-42 South Africa, Twickenham
Oct 2007: England 6-15 South Africa, Stade de France
Sep 2007: England 0-36 South Africa, Stade de France
Jun 2007: South Africa 55-22 England, Loftus

Teams

England: Elliot Daly; Jack Nowell, Henry Slade, Ben Te'o, Jonny May; Owen Farrell (co-captain), Ben Youngs; Alec Hepburn, Dylan Hartley (co-captain), Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Brad Shields, Tom Curry, Mark Wilson.

Replacements: Jamie George, Ben Moon, Harry Williams, Charlie Ewels, Zach Mercer, Danny Care, George Ford, Chris Ashton (injury replacement for Manu Tuilagi).

South Africa: Damian Willemse; Sbu Nkosi, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Aphiwe Dyantyi; Handre Pollard, Ivan van Zyl; Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain), Duane Vermeulen, Warren Whiteley.

Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit, Wilco Louw, RG Snyman, Lood de Jager, Embrose Papier, Elton Jantjies, Andre Esterhuizen.

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