England coach Eddie Jones said Twickenham, like any iconic rugby grounds, can and will hold terrors for any travelling team.

The Boks face England at the ground on Saturday on the back of a win against Italy last week, but also a six-year losing streak at 200 Whitton Road. Jones expects the Boks to try and bash the front door down in their attempt to break the growing hoodoo.

England coach Eddie Jones said Twickenham, like most rugby cathedrals across the world, will remain a difficult place for any team to win.

This rings especially true for the Springboks, who have yet to win at Twickenham since their 15 November 2014 success under Heyneke Meyer when they won 31-28.

South Africa’s match-day 23 for Saturday’s 45th Test against England only has two survivors in fullback Willie le Roux and lock Eben Etzebeth.

Scrumhalf Cobus Reinach (who scored in the game) and versatile prop Trevor Nyakane were part of the match-day 23, but left the squad due to the Test taking place outside of the international window.

England’s match-day 23 which sported four changes from last week’s rip-roaring 25-25 draw against the All Blacks, has four returnees in captain Owen Farrell, scrumhalf Ben Youngs, No 8 Billy Vunipola, and wing Jonny May.

Jones said Twickenham, like Johannesburg’s Ellis Park and Auckland’s Eden Park, are iconic grounds that are hard to win at.

Since 1992, when the Boks returned to Twickenham for the first time since 1969, they’ve lost 10 of their 17 games there and stand at 11 wins apiece in clashes against England in England.

“Well, it’s a bit like playing the Springboks at Joburg mate, or New Zealand at Eden Park: They are hard places to win,” Jones said.

“Players feel good, there’s a crowd there, the crowd’s vibrant and supports them, there’s a narrative about being strong and that gets in people’s heads, positively and negatively.

Teams:

England

15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (captain), 11 Jonny May, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Alex Coles, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola

Substitutes: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Jack Nowell

Eddie Jones has named a strong England side to face the #Springboks, with Manu Tuilagi in line to earn his 50th Test cap – more here: https://t.co/aIrUoYUGF4 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿#ENGvRSA pic.twitter.com/0tD5pnRNzv

— Springboks (@Springboks) November 24, 2022

South Africa

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche

Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Canan Moodie

#Springboks duo set on changing their fortunes at England's fortress – more here: https://t.co/Y224t9t21P 🇬🇧#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever #ENGvRSA pic.twitter.com/KLOXmKXI5F

— Springboks (@Springboks) November 23, 2022

“Why can’t teams beat New Zealand at Eden Park? Why can’t teams beat South Africa in Joburg?

“There are these iconic rugby grounds, and that’s the beauty of international rugby, isn’t it?

“You’ve got these top teams playing at these iconic rugby stadiums, and it’s hard to win, and when you do win there, you’ve got to really cherish it.”

Jones is expecting the Springboks to come through the front door in their quest to snap their six-year losing streak against England. Jones hopes his charges will be up for the physical challenge, like in the past two years where they’ve just got over the line by a point.

“It’s a completely different game. South Africa keeps coming through, whereas with New Zealand they come here, and they go [wide] quickly,” Jones said

“So, we’ve got to meet the challenge of them coming through the front door.

“It’s a different game and we’ve selected a different side to neutralise their strengths and play to our strengths.”

Kick-off for Saturday’s Test is at 19:30 (SA time).

News24