Assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth said England will be in with a chance when they play holders and favourites South Africa in the World Cup semi-finals on Saturday.
England are underdogs after failing to impress in their quarter-final win over Fiji and during their group campaign.
The Boks have looked even better than they did when they lifted the Webb Ellis Cup four years ago and edged hosts France in the last-eight in a thrilling encounter on Sunday.
The winner on Saturday will face either New Zealand or Argentina on 28 October in the decider.
“Why does everyone turn up to watch sport because you don’t know the result beforehand,” Wigglesworth told reporters. “It would be boring if you knew the result.
“We’re not here for a holiday, or just to turn up, we want to put the best of ourselves on the field. We do that, we’ll be in with a chance,” he added.
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England, champions in 2003, clung on for victory over the Fijians in Marseille as fullback Marcus Smith bore the brunt of Fiji’s confrontational style, finishing with a blood-stained shirt and a bruised face.
“I’ve been telling everybody how brave he is,” Wigglesworth said. “He gets his head in places where he can take those shots. He has a fat lip but we’re just waiting for everyone to clear medicals.”
The Boks’ one-point win over France came in part thanks to head coach Jacques Nienaber’s second-half substitutions. He introduced World Cup winning half-backs Handre Pollard and Faf de Klerk and flank-cum-hooker Deon Fourie at half time. Abrasive loose forward Kwagga Smith and experienced fullback Willie le Roux came on even later and played big roles.
“You can tell they’re a smart, diligent coaching team,” Wigglesworth said. “If you think who came on, Handre came on and had a big game on the field. Willie le Roux, a massively experienced player, had an effect on the game.
“They know they have all these different selection combinations to choose from.”
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Another element to the Boks’ substitutes is how many forwards and three-quarters they select among the eight replacements. Against France they went with five players from the pack and three from among the backs after having experimented with different options before and during the World Cup.
“They’re in a great place in terms of a squad with multiple threats,” Wigglesworth said. “If they want to go seven-one, five-three, they make that work because they’re bringing on very good players.”
Saturday’s match at the Stade de France is a rerun of the 2019 final, when South Africa crushed England 32-12, but Wigglesworth played down the effect of the match four years ago.
“I wouldn’t like to pre-empt what impact those feelings from four years ago has on this game,” he said. “On Saturday night, we have to be clear about this is the semi-final of 2023, nothing to do with 2019,” he added.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: World Rugby