England v South Africa
Head to Head - England v South Africa
Scrum.com
November 22, 2008
Preview Head to Head Report Reaction Match details Gallery
South African flanker Schalk Burger is hit hard by the English defence, England v South Africa, World Cup final, Stade de France, October 20 2007
Springbok flanker Schalk Burger meets some English resistance during last season's World Cup final © Getty Images
Enlarge
Related Links

England and South Africa will go head-to-head on Saturday at Twickenham with a huge amount of pride at stake.

England will be hungry to avenge their defeat in last season's Rugby World Cup final, while Peter De Villiers' men will be keen to complete an unbeaten tour following victories over Wales and Scotland this month.

The two sides have shared some titanic struggles since their first meeting at Crystal Palace in 1906, with South Africa holding the edge with 17 wins out of 30 Tests. England have not beaten the Springboks in their five most recent clashes with their most recent reverse coming in in Paris last year.

However, between 2000 and 2006 England defeated the Boks on seven occasions.

England v South Africa Match Stats

Played 30; England won 12; South Africa won 17; One drawn match

First Test: England 3 - 3 South Africa, Crystal Palace, December 8, 1906

Latest Test: South Africa 15 - 6 England, Rugby World Cup Final, Stade de France, October 20, 2007

Drawn Match: England 3 - 3 South Africa, Crystal Palace, December 8, 1906

England's largest winning margin: 50 points - England 53-3 South Africa, Twickenham, November 23 2002

South Africa's largest winning margin: 48 points - South Africa 58-10 England, Bloemfontein, 26 May 2007

South Africa's winning sequence: Five tests; November 25, 2006 to present day

England v South Africa Match Facts

  • England's biggest win against South Africa was 53-3 at Twickenham in 2002. The Springboks' biggest victory was 58-10 at Bloemfontein in 2007.

  • That defeat was England's second-heaviest in 136 years of Test rugby, beaten only by the 76-0 thrashing by Australia in 1998.

  • England have won just four of their 20 Tests against the Tri-Nations teams since winning the World Cup in 2003.

  • South Africa have won their last five Tests against England, their best run of results in the history of the fixture.

  • England have only three survivors in their starting XV from the team that began the World Cup final - Phil Vickery, Nick Easter and Paul Sackey. South Africa have seven.

  • Simon Shaw will win his 50th Test cap if he comes off the bench.

    Click here for a complete breakdown of all the previous clashes between England and South Africa

    © Scrum.com

    • Live Sports

    Communication error please reload the page.

    ABOUT COOKIES

    To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

    More Info Here Cookie Choices