There is an argument that the recent ding-dong epics with the All Blacks and the Wallabies matter little compared with today's final chapter of England's Twickenham trilogy. Robert Kitson reports
England v South Africa at Twickenham, Saturday, 2.30 (Sky Sports)
The next time these two teams meet will be a crucial World Cup pool game in Perth in October and, so the theory goes, a hefty psychological advantage awaits this afternoon's winners.
It is a neat and perfectly plausible conclusion which, unfortunately, contains more holes than a van-load of doughnuts. Rudi Straeuli, the South Africa coach, certainly thinks so.
"It is often said that the only thing man learns from history is that man does not learn from history," he warned this week, reeling off a well researched list of successful sides who have fallen from grace in World Cup years. Factor in the hardness of the grounds, the early-summer Australian heat, the absence of "Fortress Twickenham" and the likelihood of injuries between now and then, and you can see Straeuli's point.
Today, by contrast, every die is loaded against South Africa as England seek to play monopoly by beating the Southern Hemisphere's big three on successive weekends for the first time. If the Springboks play as badly as they did against Scotland, it could get extremely messy.
In this damp European autumn, the touring side's ambitious running gameplan has so far slithered to a standstill and their confidence is in bits. It is a sobering fact that, since the 1999 World Cup, South Africa have not achieved a win away from home against the world's leading sides in 11 attempts, on wet and dry days alike.
So how do they go about shaking England, so assured at home these days that they are seeking a world-record 18th successive home win? The most obvious answer is by unflinching physical confrontation, which is where Springbok sides traditionally used to start.
"If we didn't have one of the world's top referees in charge, maybe we would be worried," England's head coach Clive Woodward acknowledged, fully aware South Africa have some volatile characters up front and in midfield. "It's the responsibility of everyone on the pitch to keep their self-control. I don't think South Africa have got a hot-headed reputation, but they're a very physical, tough team."
As England's forwards coach Andy Robinson made clear yesterday, a route one challenge will also give the younger members of his pack such as Lewis Moody "less time to think and make decisions", and the home dressing-room reckon only France can match the Springboks in terms of bruising opposition. It scarcely takes a genius, either, to work out which England player the South Africans would like to remove from the fray given the chance.
Jonny Wilkinson has scored 152 of England's 187 points in their seven successive wins over the Southern Hemisphere's finest since Bloemfontein in June 2000.
Assuming the weather relents sufficiently for England to play with the ambition that now characterises their game, attention will also focus on those riding shotgun behind their juggernaut of a pack. The best back divisions, not least New Zealand a fortnight ago, have a rhythm about their passing and collective movement. England, for all the genius of Jason Robinson, are not quite there yet, despite having scored five tries in two games.
Either way, it is not stretching the imagination unduly to visualise England cashing in via Wilkinson's boot in the first half and then running riot against a bedraggled defence. Straeuli, though, is adamant his side will be more combative than they were against France and the Scots.
"What is hurting people more is not the fact that we lost but the manner in which we lost," he said, hinting at a passionate effort from his players. "Our challenge against England has to be to produce a performance on a par with our talent."
Guardian Service
