Wasps lock Joe Launchbury is set to make his first Test start after England coach Stuart Lancaster made six changes to the side for Saturday’s Test against South Africa at Twickenham.
Kick-off is at 16:30 SA time.
The 21-year-old Launchbury replaced club-mate Tom Palmer in a starting side announced by Lancaster on Thursday that was much altered from the one beaten 20-14 by Australia at Twickenham last weekend.
No 8 Ben Morgan, blindside flank Tom Wood and loosehead prop Alex Corbisiero all make their first starts of the European autumn series, with Wood in the XV for the first time since last year’s Rugby World Cup following a toe injury.
In the backs, Mike Brown, the Harlequins fullback, starts on the left wing with England using two fullbacks – Alex Goode is at No 15 – in a bid to counter the Springboks’ expected aerial threat.
Meanwhile Ben Youngs is preferred to Danny Care at scrumhalf.
England will be looking for their first win over a major southern hemisphere nation under Lancaster having lost twice and drawn once in a three-Test series away to South Africa in June before last week’s Wallaby reverse.
Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer named on Wednesday a starting XV unchanged from the one that beat Scotland 21-10 at Murrayfield last weekend.
Lancaster’s men conclude their European autumn campaign against world champions New Zealand at Twickenham on December 1.
Teams:
England:
15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Tom Wood , 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Alex Corbisiero
Substitutes: 16 David Paice, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 James Haskell , 21 Danny Care, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Jonathan Joseph
South Africa:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp
Substitutes: 16. Schalk Brits, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Elton Jantjies, 22 Jaco Taute, 23 Lwazi Mvovo
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November 22nd, 2012 at 2:11 pm
my heart is with the Bokke but my money is on the poms
November 22nd, 2012 at 3:04 pm
I won’t watch.
I won’t buy anything with a
Springbok emblem.
I won’t support them in any form
or way until they start playing
like Springbokke.
That means skillfull,passionate and
Professional .
And if they don’t
Ill forget them and my sons
will only support France.
To watch dumb blocks of meat
fuck about trying to imitate Springboks
for more than a decade
is enough.
November 22nd, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Reply to Duiwel @ 3:04 pm:
To watch dumb blocks of meat
fuck about
———
Ou Suurgat! Ek gee hulle nog
‘n jaar lank kans met HM.
November 22nd, 2012 at 6:03 pm
Jissie oom duiwel, maar vir n toppie is jy darem ongeduldig. Heyneke werk met n plan, onthou dit het hom 2 seisoene gevat om sukses by die bulle te kry. Hy het nie nou 2 seisoene nie, maar hy werk agter die skerms hard. Al hoekom hulle so konserwatief speel, is oor hy weet, verloor hy baie, verloor hy sy werk, so gee hom kans.
November 22nd, 2012 at 8:32 pm
Reply to Duiwel @ 3:04 pm:
I have been a fan of Wales, Ireland, Oz and France for the past 5 years. Whomever looks like they want to play rugby.
Even my son asks “pappa when is bokke day again?” – referring to the Saturday when you wear the Bok regalia – Bok day has been put on hold for a rather long time.
I still ‘support’ the boks as they represent my country but my kid wont love the sport if I were to force the Boks on him right now.
November 22nd, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Reply to The Year of the Cheetah @ 8:32 pm:
I actually always wanted to ask you this.
As an artist, or rather, entertainer, what makes you decide ‘how’ you are going to entertain?
I know your work, I have listened to it, I love it, but you know as well as I do it does not cater for the ‘mass market’ of the Steve Hofmeyer, Kurt Darren, Snotkop type crowd out there who wants ‘entertainment’, or that cheap ass sokkie-jol brain-dead kak.
So my first question would be do you make music to ‘entertain’ the masses, or do you make it because it is special to you? Knowing it might not sell millions of copies, but those poor old fucks (like me) who enjoy decent music will love it and appreciate it.
My second question is quite simple.
To create anything beautiful in life takes time, and as an artist, I think you would appreciate this journey I am referring to.
I am also sure many shot you down in the first month, 2 months, 3 months, 3 years you went on this journey yourself to create something special. Something you believe will work, does work, and will succeed.
Rugby is no different bud. If you try and look how many raw, natural players Meyer introduced just in this year, his first, you might get a damn good idea of the journey he is on, or wants to take.
This change to something spectacular will never happen overnight, there is not one great song that just happens, it is a process, and while you are busy with this, there are many up’s and down’s, many mistakes, many what-if’s and many if-only’s.
Those who make it, stick it through, they tell those who doubt them (silently) to fuck off.
And that’s about all I have to say about this for now.
November 22nd, 2012 at 11:52 pm
Reply to Morné @ 9:44 pm:
I dont know if its a fair comparison. Things take time yes but the process of writing a good song and the reasons for doing so do not relate much to coaching a rugby team and being paid a shit load to do so.
If I coach the under 9′s for the love of it, knowing the reward is small, then yes maybe compare me to an indie artist who does it for the love of it.
But HM is paid great money to get it right. His team gets to use the best players in the land and are the best resourced. As a result the expectations are much higher. Lady gaga cannot with a writing and productions team in the hundreds push out an indie number with a slight mistake on one chord and a slightly off-tone note here and there.
Meyer has been a huge disappointment on a great many fronts. yes he has brought in some players – forced mainly by the absence of the old brigade. Has he made these youngsters perform better than they did prior to entering the bok camp?
I doubt it.
November 23rd, 2012 at 4:24 am
Reply to Duiwel @ 3:04 pm: when did you become emo?
Cry me a river “the boks don’t want to play”… They are number 2 in the world and going into a huge war this weekend.
Fair-weathered fans need not apply…
November 23rd, 2012 at 4:45 am
This is going to be a cracker. The Eeenglish are my enemy and will not miss this game like the Scotland game. I do get out of control and tend to smash things when the boks play the Poms.
HM knows we will struggle to match the physicality hence he is going for Lambie attacking the gain line.
I have been very impressed with AStruass’s leadership and how well he has been playing the ref. To think that some of the more knowledgable(the ones that like to tell you are wrong)bloggers on this site reckoned he was CC quality at best. Yep whatever.
Reply to Morné @ 9:44 pm: good question.
November 23rd, 2012 at 7:03 am
Reply to Morné @ 9:44 pm: Beautifully put Morne.
I think when looking at Meyer this year (and yes I have criticised him this year) is that he was implementing phase one. Phase on was get a forward pack that will compete with the best in the world. And in my opinion he has done that, he has experiemtned in the forwards with just about everyone (Greyling and Werner Kruger included
) and his dog.
Now next year will be phase two, establish a backline with talent.
So I look forward to seeing evolution in attack next year.
November 23rd, 2012 at 7:17 am
I haven’t seen one pass
one backline move
one piece of skill
or one strategy
That sets these poepolle apart
From Poepolpiet’a spul
What has Hang-on Heineke done?
Taken a great U21 side
and do the fitter and turner?
Fit them into”Springbokke”
And turn them into shit?
They don’t play rugby.
They play bump a bok
When he took the job
He didn’t talk about
Fkn excuses
Young team,building,buzzword zzzzzzzzzzz
The reality is he has less
Of a clue than deviliers.
Old Hang -On is giving the media
Exactly the same buzzwords
The players have no hands,
no support play
no off load
Struggle to execute the most basic
Rugby skills.
They are a joke compared
to the AB
Ill go fishing instead
and get he boys dressed in blue
come the World Cup
If I wanted to watch clowns
I’d go to the circus
November 23rd, 2012 at 7:23 am
A forward pack to compete
Phase one?
Are you fkn kidding?!
They struggle to hold the fkn ball man?
Too dumb to pass
Just do the Dumbo
And fok straight into the first oppo
And fall down
Phew!
At least I didn’t drop it hey
Duh-huh
Eks so fkn Dom
Ek kan vir die Bokke speel
Kak
Get a real coach
Get some fkn pride
Before then
They kan kiss my hairy African arse
November 23rd, 2012 at 7:50 am
“They kan kiss my hairy African arse”
Geez, now I have to slaughter a pig, to get rid of that image.
November 23rd, 2012 at 9:16 am
Reply to The Year of the Cheetah @ 11:52 pm:
Don’t bring the money angle in on this. You could easily do something else in your life that will make you a shit lot more money but it is not your passion.
No coach, or any person involved in rugby or rugby management, do what they do to lose. I would go as far as to say no person involved in that aspect of rugby does not have a passion for the game either – you have to, or it will swallow you up in an instant.
You doubt Meyer’s ability, reasoning and/or decisions same as people doubted you in your trade. Only he can step up and prove you and many others wrong.
My point is, it will take time, afford the man at least that, even if only one more season with this team.
November 23rd, 2012 at 9:27 am
Reply to Morné @ 9:16 am:
I have no other choice really but to follow the development of a man who had so much potential to start with.
His choice of squad and players for the UK tour was telling though.
I think you are going to be disappointed if you see year one as some sort of a step 1 foundation year with year 2 heralding a magic ‘backline’ year.
My hope is he is forced to pick other players, who like Louw forces him to think differently about the game. His own ideas seem old and misplaced.
November 23rd, 2012 at 9:33 am
Reply to The Year of the Cheetah @ 9:27 am:
Those were not my words, I don’t believe in magic, I believe in progression.
Giving him the 2013 season is in no way feeling sorry for him – it is in my opinion a fair length of time to judge a coach at this level.
Personally, Meyer will prove in 2013 if he is a coach with the aptitude to coach at national level. Some of the best coaching minds are not because they cannot deal with the pressure and environment. Think Deans as an example.
I think Meyer is a great coach, the only thing he needs to ‘prove’ is if he has the aptitude to be a great coach at test level.
November 23rd, 2012 at 9:33 am
Reply to Morné @ 9:16 am:
and my point RE money is not that HM does not have a dream and a passion for the game and the Boks.
My point is that he is paid too much to have many an excuse.
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:27 am
Reply to The Year of the Cheetah @ 9:33 am: Do you honestly believe this tripe?
and my point RE money is not that HM does not have a dream and a passion for the game and the Boks.
Have you not watched this guy in the coach box during games?
Have you ever sat down and talked to him over a meal or cup of coffee and heard him talk about rugby, about where he comes from, how he regards individual players, how he plans games.
I have
If you honestly honestly believe that absolute unadulterated KAK, then your son is right… the Bokke are better off with you supporting Ireland or something
November 23rd, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Reply to DavidS @ 11:27 am: David, did you not promise me a sitting at a table with HM?
November 23rd, 2012 at 5:42 pm
Did I?
Let’s see when next season kicks off okay… sure we can arrange something.
November 23rd, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Reply to DavidS @ 5:42 pm: Thanks, that will be great.
November 23rd, 2012 at 10:38 pm
Mediocrity is the norm
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:00 pm
We don’t have to be able to
Pass
Catch
Offload
Support
Run into space
Kick accurately
Or any of that bollocks
We drop the ball
Fail to get it back
Knock it forward
Kick it aimlessly away
Lose it in the tackle
Or following turnover.
And generally play like its
rugby league
Only dumber.
We are now relieved to win against
Scotland
Wales
Samoa
We are all preening with pride
if we beat England and Ireland
Never mind the frogs
And consider it a great side
If we beat aus and god forbid
New Zealand
Then we sommer have another
Nagmaal
Our coaches are challenged
to find new buzzwords for losing.
They are so blasé about it they
use each others material.
They prove springbok rugby
about as much as a third tit.
They have the good fortune
To ride the Train to its financial end.
Out players primadonna about
Talking more real rugby
than ever playing it.
And you not only want me to pay for it
but I must admire it .
Fck that
I’m going to football with my boy.
The tragedy is that even after England
has given them a P@@@klap
well be expected to buy
the ensuing buzzword bullshit.
The national coach
wants us to play dumb
Like his team
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:11 pm
http://www.rugbydata.com/southafrica
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:13 pm
http://www.rugbydata.com/southafrica/teamsplayed
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:20 pm
http://stats.espnscrum.com/statsguru/rugby/stats/analysis.html?search=South+Africa+;template=analysis
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:27 pm
the All Blacks break a tackle more often than they kick a ball on average in 2012 – shows just how difficult it is to play them.
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:29 pm
the All Blacks make on average 9.4 offloads a game
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:31 pm
An interesting stat surrounding the kicks is that the Springboks have yet to reclaim a kickoff this year, signaling they see a restart as a simple formality and bang it deep and try and pin the opposition down in their own 22. The All Blacks on the other hand are more varied, and have reclaimed 16.7% of their restarts
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:33 pm
t the All Blacks break a tackle every 43 seconds -
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:33 pm
Reply to Duiwel @ 11:29 pm:
Oil on your fire:
The Boks have made ONE in two tests.
Don’t hold your breath for today.
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:35 pm
t the All Blacks break a tackle every 43 seconds — roughly the same time they take per tactical kick — and miss only one in every eight tackles. The Boks’ stats on defence are missing one in six.
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:36 pm
Naand Oudste!
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:39 pm
The bigger worry for the Boks is where they lose the ball. A massive 32% of the time they lose it in the opposition 22, hence their problems with being clinical in a game. The All Blacks, in contrast, lose the ball just 15% of the time in the oppositions 22.
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:39 pm
Is maar kakkerig, nè.
Maar ek gee HM ‘n jaar – net m regverdig te wees.
Hy’s nie ‘n aap nie.
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:46 pm
Springboks kick per averag every 35 seconds
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:50 pm
When it comes to missing tackles the Springboks have very much improved on their 2011 missed tackle ratio. They were on averaging missing 1 out of every 3 attempts in 2011. I shit you not. In 2012 this has improved to missing 1 in 6.4 tackles attempts on average
November 23rd, 2012 at 11:55 pm
Springbok handling error average every
3min 46 sec
A third in oppo 22
November 24th, 2012 at 12:00 am
http://www.ruckingoodstats.com/context/file?id=3328
November 24th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Ok, so let’s say we beat England today, this has been one of the most successfull years for a Bok coach. A Bok coach that has had to deal with the loss of some of our most experienced Boks, then had to deal with a host of injuries, and rebuild a team.
If I take just that stat, I am sorry to say but Heyneke has done a sterling job. And it nullifies all the other stats that you have mentioned Duiwel.
Also in your stats, it shows that our defense has tightened up brilliantly. So I really dont see reason for all these complaints. Yes we were not an attacking force, but hell give the team some time to gell. We’ve had 4 different flyhalves, numerous props, so just give Heyneke a break. He’s had to deal with more than most coaches this year, and in view of his winning percentages, deserves some credit.
November 24th, 2012 at 2:26 pm
Aldo,
Bullshit mate.
We look fkn terrible.
We are relieved to win against
Teams like Scotland and
Argentinia.
We nip against England and Ireland.
Thank fk we tackle more cause thats
All we do
And we still miss one in six.
Fact.
We kick because our handlîg
Is piss poor.
Our attempts at playing rugby at pace
Is fkn pathetic.
What has improved?
The fkn buzz.
HM as coach is as big a fake
as PdV.
The fact that he is a blouballas,
And Afrikaner cuts him slack with others maybe
Not with me.
The side he gets paid to improve
Are laughable.
A mere impression
Of mallets 17 consecutive wins.
He can’t do the job.
Get him off the fkn pot.
Get a real coach.
Then start asking why we are shit
At every other aspect of the game
Than kicking it aimlessly.
WE HAVE not even won one
Ball back on a ads kop the whole year!
That’s laughable.
And don’t give me fkn injuries
Newzealamd has less players
As a whole nation
And are making us look like
One dimensional fkn idiots
Regularly.
HM is supposed to readdress our national
rugby.
I haven’t seen shit happen
Only the se fkn excuses till the next World Cup.
Wake up.
November 24th, 2012 at 2:31 pm
It’s not my stats.
It’s international stats.
Objective
HM should take a look
It’s easy to spot
Look at the worst SH side
It will be us
At 90 percent of the general play.
So lets cut the buzz word kak.
The talk of how physical we are
how injuries,new side ectzzzzzz
Get the job done
Or fk off .
Get someone who can.
Like mallet
November 24th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
Someone who can, like Mallet? Jees what happened when the boks got injuries with him as coach? Oh right we lost.
Heyneke does not get cut slack because he is afriakner or anything else, look at my comments over the last few years, in support of PdV. I support the bok coach, cos he is now starting in a year where we lost a shitload of players. We need to give the bok coach time to make his mark. No one can rebuild what we’ve lost, within a year. That is as much a fact as stats. So sit back, open a cold one and watch the rugby. But jees give the guy a break.