South Africa will target the area they believe to be England's biggest strength at the Stade de France on Saturday. The Springboks are convinced that concentrating on the scrum and defusing the threat posed by the prop Andrew Sheridan will take them to within touching distance of their second World Cup win.

Jake White's squad have put in extra scrummaging practice this week, not just because of England's strength in the set-piece but because of the way Argentina had the South African eight back-pedalling from the start of last Sunday's semi-final.

In that match, the Stade Francais loosehead prop Rodrigo Roncero got well on top of the Springbok tighthead, CJ van der Linde.

The Springboks were unhappy afterwards Roncero had got away with what they felt was "boring in" and not scrummaging straight, and they are concerned it is a tactic in which Sheridan also indulges. As they are not allowed to attempt to bring anything directly to the attention of the referee, Alain Rolland, before the match, they are working out their own way of sorting out the problem.

"We take pride in our scrummaging," said the experienced Natal secondrow forward Johann Muller. "We have taken a close look this week at the way Sheridan scrums and it is not always straight. He does go into the side of the tighthead, but there is no doubt he is a fantastic scrummager. We will find a way to deal with him. We will not step back, that is for sure. It is a part of the game we really look forward to."

While England have been criticised for their style in Australia and New Zealand, two Tri-Nations countries who did not make it to the World Cup's last four, the South Africa centre Jaque Fourie disputed the claim from some Southern Hemisphere sources that not only were the holders the most boring team in the tournament but that they had set the cause of the sport back by many years simply by qualifying for the final.

"I do not think that any side which has players like Jason Robinson, Paul Sackey and Mathew Tait in its back division can be called boring," said Fourie. "Whether England move the ball or not is up to them, but it is not a question of how you win the World Cup: all that matters is that you do. When you consider how they have fought back since we beat them [ 36-0] last month, you have to give them every credit for the immense improvement they have shown.

"We know we are not going to get a repeat of that scoreline on Saturday, but equally we have not hit our best form this tournament. There is more to come from us and we have tried to treat this week no differently from any other in the build-up to an international."

South Africa had to reshuffle their midfield after their first match, a 59-7 win over Samoa, following a knee injury suffered by the centre Jean de Villiers. The 20-year-old Francois Steyn has come into the side and at times, especially in the quarter-final against Fiji, his inexperience has been clear. "Francois is going to be a great player," said Fourie. "He is always looking to try things and you have to rein him back sometimes. He is still young but he is a really exciting talent.

"Our mindset will be to attack England, but a final is unlike any other game and it is a question of working out the best way to win. Eddie Jones (the former Australia coach who is now South Africa's technical adviser) has made a big difference in the few months he has been with us, especially (on) basic stuff that we had not been focusing on in previous years, such as picking defenders. He has been a tremendous help to me. We have spent four years preparing for this tournament and I think we are going to do it."

The wing JP Pietersen, who scored two tries in last month's victory over England, said he expected a far tighter game on Saturday. "We always go into a match intending to move the ball, but sometimes you do not see much of it, as was the case against Argentina," he said. "England may not have been playing a wide game but we cannot relax because they have guys like Jason Robinson who are very dangerous.

"We will not be underestimating the threat England pose behind, and with Jonny Wilkinson back in their side having missed last month's game, they are going to be a totally different proposition."