Fired-up England will refuse to let the muscular South Africa intimidate them in Saturday’s World Cup semi-final in Paris.
The brutal Springboks love to flex their ultimate supremacy, and will seize any chance to put the squeeze on opponents who show any sign of weakness.
England are well versed for the physical onslaught that awaits them at the Stade de France on Saturday night though, and flanker Tom Curry insists Steve Borthwick’s men will be entirely undaunted by the challenge.
Laying the gauntlet straight back down to the Springboks, Curry vowed that no one in the England camp will take a backward step in Saint Denis.
Asked if it will be important for England not to let anything intimidate or distract them, Curry replied: “Definitely. The main thing is what happens between the whistles.
“We’ve got to make sure that whatever happens we’re onto the next thing, and we attack whatever is next, because that is what matters.”
South Africa’s chief enforcer, lock Eben Etzebeth loves to psych out opponents with regular off-the-ball jostling and grappling between plays.
The 31-year-old is a master of unsettling even the toughest rivals, and England know they will have to keep their focus on the match in Paris this weekend.
Curry’s relentless breakdown work and physicality heaped the pressure on Fiji last weekend in England’s 30-24 quarter-final victory in Marseille.
The potent Fiji flanker Levani Botia threw several open-hand swings at Curry in that last-eight tussle, as the breakdown battle ramped up through the notches.
Curry is already gearing up for even higher intensity levels this weekend against the Boks – and was adamant that England are ready, and prepared to meet the entire challenge head-on.
No one in the England camp is trying to play down the size and scale of this encounter, and both teams are primed to throw everything they have at each other.
Asked whether his clash with Botia could have descended into full-on fist flinging from the Fijian, Curry replied: “It didn’t get that far, thank God for that!
“Other players play their best when they are like that, who knows. But I know Botia’s a great player, and I love playing against him.
“As a group I think we’ve been good so far in that we’ve not shied away from it. A semi-final is a semi-final, it’s a great occasion. It’s a semi-final, where else would you rather be?
“The coaches have given us a great gameplan, you can feel the excitement of the players. And now they will build to tomorrow, and it’s coming together nicely.
“Some people want to be calm, some want to get fired up. But it’s going to be exciting, I can tell you that.”
