George tells England to prepare for rugby ‘war’ against Springboks

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Jamie George has told England to prepare for a “brutal battle” in a rugby “war” with world champions South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday.

It will be the first time the two teams have met since South Africa’s 16-15 victory in the 2023 World Cup semi-finals in Paris – a heated encounter made even more bitter after the Englishman’s accusations Tom Curry that he was the victim of racist abuse. by Bongi Mbonambi of the Springboks.

England are currently on a four-game losing streak, including last-minute losses to New Zealand (22-24) and Australia (37-42) in their first two November internationals.

But beating South Africa, back-to-back world champions, would go some way to repairing the damage, with England captain George insisting his side will relish the physical challenge posed by the Springboks.

“Every time you step onto the field for England in a Test you know you’re in a war, you know you’re in a battle, you know it’s going to be brutal at times,” said George.

“But the kind of team we want to be, the expectation we have, is that we run and we run hard.”

The hooker added: “Our rivalry with South Africa is historic. There will always be an advantage every time we play them. It’s a physical game, a confrontational game.

“Their style of play is very direct and straightforward and that’s the kind of game we like, the kind of game we enjoy.”

Some of England’s best recent performances have been forged through adversity, with this year’s 23-22 victory over Ireland in the Six Nations coming just a fortnight after a lackluster defeat to Scotland.

“Historically we have been a team that reacts very well following a poor performance,” George said. “And that’s what our match against Australia was, if we’re completely honest.

“It’s important to not only rely on history, but also to be clear about why we bounce back well and why going into games as underdogs allows us to get the most out of ourselves.

“We don’t always want to be in this situation, but of course we are going to make the most of it this week… The team can be confident that we are clear about what we did wrong against Australia , but more importantly: why.”

Meanwhile, George said England would try to be as confrontational at Twickenham as they were against the Springboks at last year’s World Cup.

“They seemed shocked by our physicality and our approach to the game, so there will be a plan there in terms of our knowledge of how to shake South Africa,” he said.

“But we’re a different team than we were then. We’ve evolved, they’ve evolved. They’ve got a different coaching staff, so have we. That’s going to be a really interesting part of who wins the game.”

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