LONDON - Rarely in the 96-year history of England's rugby battles with South Africa can the odds have been stacked so heavily in favour of an English victory as they are for tomorrow's clash at Twickenham.
Clive Woodward's side are on a seemingly irresistible roll while the Springboks are in a
state of disarray. England have won 17 games in a row at their home ground, the last two against New Zealand and Australia.
Tomorrow, they will be seeking a rare Southern Hemisphere hat-trick and also be looking to maintain a run that has seen them win their last seven matches against the Tri-Nations teams, including three in a row against South Africa.
The 1995 World Cup winners, by contrast, are in real trouble. After suffering a record 30-10 defeat to France a fortnight ago, coach Rudolf Straeuli made 10 changes, only to see the new-look team lose to Scotland for the first time since 1969 last weekend, the 21-6 reverse another unwanted record.
While the English media are backing their side to win next year's World Cup, their South African counterparts have been ripping into the tourists, describing them as one of the worst Springbok teams in living memory.
Everything points so much to an England win that it could be the perfect time for an upset.
"They have got a lot of pride in their rugby," England captain Martin Johnson said. "It is a huge thing for them. They will be disappointed with the way they have played. Teams invariably show character in that situation."
* In Paris, Six Nations winners France have done the hard stuff by beating South Africa and drawing with New Zealand, but at the Stade de France tomorrow they cannot afford to take their foot off the pedal against Canada.
The French scrum has been impressive in both tests, and they will need to continue with that because the Canadians' great strength and experience lies with the pack.
Led by 36-year-old veteran Al Charron, who wins a record 73rd cap after missing the 32-21 defeat by Wales because of the death of his father, the Canadians have class running through them.
* In Genoa, the nervous Wallabies have opted for safety first against Italy tomorrow, as they desperately need a positive end to their disappointing tour.
Fearful of humiliation in the final game on tour and a repeat of the embarrassing loss to Ireland, Australian coach Eddie Jones yesterday named his strongest possible side.
Even though Jones wanted to use the tour to try out different players, and the Italians would be no match for the out-of-form world champions, he was so anxious to finish the trip positively he passed up the chance to give the bench-warmers a run.
Jones was stung by the insipid 18-9 loss to Ireland when he picked an experimental side and then his strongest team were beaten 32-31 by England last weekend.
Italian coach John Kirwan has made nine changes to his starting side, dropping captain Alessandro Troncon to the bench. * In Dublin, Ireland will be out to build on their win over Australia when they tackle Argentina tomorrow.
* In Edinburgh, Scotland complete their autumn against Fiji at Murrayfield on Monday morning.
Teams:
England v South Africa
England: Jason Robinson, Ben Cohen, Will Greenwood, Mike Tindall, Phil Christophers, Jonny Wilkinson, Matt Dawson, Richard Hill, Neil Back, Lewis Moody, Ben Kay, Martin Johnson (capt), Phil Vickery, Steve Thompson, Jason Leonard.
South Africa: Werner Greef, Breyton Paulse, Robbie Fleck, Butch James, Friedrich Lombard, Andre Pretorius, Bolla Conradie, Joe van Niekerk, Pedrie Wannenburg, Corne Krige (capt), AJ Venter, Johannes Labuschagne, Deon Carstens, James Dalton, Wessel Roux.
France v Canada
France: Nicolas Brusque, Vincent Clerc, Thomas Castaignede, Damien Traille, Daniel Bory, Gerald Merceron, Fabien Galthie (capt), Imanol Harinordoquy, Olivier Magne, Serge Betsen, Olivier Brouzet, Fabien Pelous, Pieter De Villiers, Raphael Ibanez, Jean-Jacques Crenca.
Canada: Winston Stanley, Sean Fauth, Nik Witkowski, John Cannon, Fred Asselin, Bobby Ross, Morgan Williams, Phil Murphy, Ryan Banks, Al Charron (capt), Mike James, John Tait, John Thiel, Pat Dunkley, Rod Snow.
Australia v Italy
Italy: Mirco Bergamasco, Paolo Vaccari, Cristian Stoica, Matteo Barbini, Diego Sacca, Ramiro Pez, Juan Manuel Queirolo, Sergio Parisse, Mauro Bergamasco, Aaron Persico, Marco Bortolami, Enrico Pavanello, Marti Leandro Castrogiovanni, Fabio Ongaro, Andrea Lo Cicero. Australia: Stirling Mortlock, Wendell Sailor, Matt Burke, Daniel Herbert, Scott Staniforth, Elton Flatley, George Gregan (capt), Toutai Kefu, George Smith, Matt Cockbain, Justin Harrison, Dan Vickerman, Patricio Noriega, Adam Freier, Bill Young.
Ireland v Argentina
Ireland: Girvan Dempsey, Shane Horgan, Brian O'Driscoll (capt), Kevin Maggs, Justin Bishop, Ronan O'Gara, Peter Stringer, Anthony Foley, Keith Gleeson, Victor Costello, Malcolm O'Kelly, Gary Longwell, John Hayes, Shane Byrne, Reggie Corrigan.
Argentina: Ignacio Corleto, Gonzalo Camardon, Jose Orengo, Lisandro Arbizu (capt), Diego Albanese, Felipe Contepomi, Agustin Pichot, Gonzalo Longo, Rolando Martin, Santiago Phelan, Rimas Alvarez, Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, Omar Hasan, Mario Ledesma, Mauricio Reggiardo.
Reserves: Brendan Cannon, Ben Darwin, David Giffin, David Croft, Chris Whitaker, Matt Giteau, Mark Bartholomeusz.
- AGENCIES
LONDON - Rarely in the 96-year history of England's rugby battles with South Africa can the odds have been stacked so heavily in favour of an English victory as they are for tomorrow's clash at Twickenham.
Clive Woodward's side are on a seemingly irresistible roll while the Springboks are in a
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