England flanker Chris Robshaw expects to face a much different South Africa side to the one that lost against Wales in Washington last weekend, as England prepare for Saturday’s first Test.
The Springboks fell 22-20 to Warren Gatland’s men in the US capital, where their starting XV had less caps (134) than Wales’ Bradley Davies and George North had between them (135).
But despite their recent dip in form, Robshaw is aware of the threat posed by Rassie Erasmus’ team.
“The South Africans are getting a bit of form back and playing well, they might be coming off the back of a couple of losses but they have some great players in there, as well as a new coach,” he told England Rugby.
“We’re unsure of what they’re going to bring, I’m sure they’ll have some tricks up their sleeve, and we have to be ready for that.”
The Harlequin is all too aware of how formidable the Springboks can be at home, having toured the Rainbow Nation with England in 2012, where in three Tests they suffered two defeats and a draw.
The second match of that visit was played at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park – the venue for Saturday’s clash – and was a game England lost 36-27, down to what Robshaw cites as ‘not being ready’.
“We weren’t as ready as we hoped we were, we allowed them to get momentum and we were playing catch up the whole game. This time around we have to meet that head on in the first minute,” he said.
“Bar Twickenham, Ellis Park is the best rugby stadium I have ever played at due to the intensity it brings, the atmosphere and the passion levels.
“We are looking forward to it, we are under no illusions about how hard it is going to be, and we have spoken about how hard it is to go there and be successful.”
Although England have only registered one victory over the Boks in their last 13 attempts, it is the most recent: a 37-21 result at Twickenham in November 2016.
And it’ll have to be a performance Eddie Jones’ men can emulate, if they are to make history and be the first England side to win a Test series in South Africa.
“It is all about this series, we know we’ve had to address some things from the Six Nations which we’ve hopefully fixed, but for us to come down here it is about winning the series – that’s what our mind set is,” he explained.
“This is going to be an exciting but challenging tour, and we have to make sure we’re on it.”
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