While Allister Coetzee has pointed to the Barbarians game next Saturday as the most important one of the tour because it will set the tone for the three Tests that follow, he is also deeply aware the match against England the following week will be just as significant.
It is the match every South African fan will focus on to see if the Boks’ game has improved or changed in any way since the Rugby Championship. It will be the first real Test of the tour; the Baabaas game being a friendly international minus all the overseas-based players in the Bok squad.
Further-more, England are now considered the most likely team to challenge the All Blacks’ supremacy, they are the defending Six Nations champions and they beat the Wallabies 3-0 in a June Test series.
On top of that they are coached by the wily Eddie Jones, the man who orchestrated the Boks’ downfall against Japan at last year’s World Cup. He has no doubt been plotting the Boks’ demise in this Test for weeks already.
Coetzee has admitted he has already spent time thinking about the England game.
“I’ve gone through the videos of that Australia series and picked up where they played well, how they (England) focused on a few key areas,” said Coetzee in Joburg as the Boks continued with their tour preparations.
“They’re an England team that’s got better and improved under Eddie, who’s done a great job.
“He brought belief into the team by backing the players and then they are a side that have a monstrous pack. They’re very physical and they have a solid defence.”
Also standing out for the Bok boss is the fact that under Jones the England team have played with two flyhalves in the backline - that is at 10 and inside centre, with George Ford and Owen Farrell leading the backs. Coetzee said the selection of the two men in the starting team had benefited the side.
“They’ve got two 10s in there, both of whom can kick the ball a mile. With them there they’re able to put the opposition under pressure territorially from 10 and 12.
“They did it well against Australia in June, asking the Wallabies to run from deep.
“And on top of that they have a 95 percent (success rate) goal-kicker in Farrell. That is what we are facing,” said the Bok mentor.
“It sounds dark ... but we will plan and prepare well and always give ourselves a chance against the number two side in the world.”
Exactly what Coetzee has spoken about regarding the England team - their ability to put pressure on the opposition by way of their strong tactical kicking game - is what he and his coaching team want from the Boks on tour.
It is one of the reasons why Louis Koen, Saru’s kicking specialist, has been added to the tour group for the duration of the European trip.
The Boks wrap up their preparations in Joburg on Friday before flying out to London that evening.
The Star