Springbok scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen says coach Harry Viljoen's faith in his ability has boosted him back to his best international form.

"Harry has come in and made it clear he trusts me to play my own game. For two years I was nothing more than a link man. I stood behind the scrum and was told to pass the ball.

"It is fair to say I am more committed to playing for South Africa than I have been for two years," said the World Cup-winning scrum-half.

After suffering a groin problem in 1997, van der Westhuizen has been hit by two serious ligament injuries in the past couple of years, including one that he picked up during the World Cup.

He said: "I played against Australia and New Zealand after it had gone. The doctor picked it up after I had got back to South Africa but I didn't even know.

"Then when I was fit to play I ended up sitting on the bench. I wouldn't have minded if the coach had given me a reason for his decision."

But he acknowledges the Springboks will have to improve on that win if they are to stand any chance of avenging England's victory in their previous meeting in Bloemfontein.

"We are not going to use that defeat as motivation because there is no point dwelling in the past," he said.

"In any case, England are a better side now than they were then. They have a strong tight five in the pack and the ball distribution is very good.

"Jonny Wilkinson is playing a bigger role in attack and they go forward with much more purpose now."

"I have played with six different coaches and they have all had a different game-plan. We are still making errors, particularly in defence, but we know what we have to do to erase those from our game. At least now the self-belief is back and we can start to look forward with confidence again."