Nienaber backs 'form' 23 to KO England

Head coach Jacques Nienaber said an unchanged Springbok lineup is in the “best form” to beat England on Saturday and secure their spot in the World Cup final.

This weekend’s semi-final in Paris will be a rerun of the 2019 World Cup decider in Japan, which the Boks dominated to win 32-12, and for the first time in this year’s tournament Nienaber has opted to name an unchanged match-day 23.

“We’ve been building a quality World Cup squad for the last few years so that we could be in this position going into the knockout matches,” said Nienaber.

“We have a squad of 33 players, all of whom are very closely matched in terms of their skill and quality of play which made it tempting to make changes this week and it was tough to select this group both last week and this week. But we feel it’s now time to go with the players in the squad who we believe are in their best form.”

Nienaber noted that eight of the team started against England four years ago while another seven from that match are also in the 23.

“This may not have much significance, but the fact remains that these players have been here before, and they know what it will take to defeat a top-quality team such as England,” he added.

“Competition for places in the team is very tight and the coaches had a few in depth discussions before finalising the team.

TEAM: Boks unchanged for World Cup semi

“We have players like Lukhanyo Am, Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen, Jasper Wiese, Jean Kleyn, and the list goes on, who are all good enough to be in this team and would have fitted in and done the job just well as the other players.

“But we can only select 23 and everyone in this group is aligned and understands that the country comes first,” Nienaber added.

“We are playing for our friends, family and the 60 million people at home who have been supporting us through thick and thin and we are determined to continue giving them hope and something to smile about.”

Nienaber said he expected a humdinger of a challenge from the English: “They come off five victories in a row and they are high on confidence. They have a quality pack and world-class backs who can create magic on the field, and those who are writing them off are making a major mistake.

“Like us, they are one game away from a World Cup final and we’ve seen through the history of the tournament that England raise their game for these matches. If we lose, we have to play the third-place playoff – which no team wants to do.

“We are closely matched in terms of average player age and caps, both teams are used to playing on the biggest stage. This is do-or-die if either of wants to the lift the trophy next week, so neither side will give an inch.”

LISTEN: Boks earn the world’s respect