Just over 12 months ago South Africa and England battled it out for our sports ultimate prize, the World Cup. On that occasion the Springboks emerged victorious but who will take the glory this time around? We preview this epic rivalry renewed.

A couple of centimeter of white chalk made all the difference in France last year so one can only imagine what will tilt the balance this time around.

To say the two teams have undergone massive changes over the last few months would be an understatement. South Africa, under new coach Peter De Villiers have enjoyed a rollercoaster ride which has seen them record famous wins over the All Blacks in New Zealand as well as a record size win over Australia, but also then seen them fail to impress in the Tri-Nations as a whole and, very recently, producing unconvincing performances against both Wales and Scotland.

Forgetting all the ongoing off-field nonsense which seems to plague them, this is undeniably still very much a Springboks side in transition, both in personnel and style.

All that said though they remain a formidable unit. Led by John Smit (this week restored to his favourite hooker berth) the Springboks still boast massive experience and world class talent with the likes of Victor Matfield, Schalk Burger and Bryan Habana in the lineup.

The loss of Bismarck Du Plessis and Juan Smith will be felt though. Juan of course is coming off a man-of-the-match performance against Scotland and, while Danie Rossouw is an able replacement, his impact would have helped. Jannie Du Plessis, who steps directly into the void left by his brother?s absence but Brian Mujati must surely be a little bit bent out of shape after being leapfrogged for the starting spot. (Although the latest word from the camp is that he is carrying a knock...)

England has suffered a late injury setback themselves ? after his struggling performance against the Wallabies last weekend, Andrew Sheridan has been ruled out with a neck injury. Tim Payne comes in as a specialist loose head replacement.

Otherwise the only other change sees Wasps hero James Haskell restored to the side of the scrum at the expense of Tom Croft. Haskell, if nothing else, will bring sheer passion to the England cause.

Having had the chance to hear the 23 year-old speak a couple of times, I can assure everyone he will not die wondering ? he will test himself against the best, Schalk Burger, and it should be a cracking contest.

Talking about the selection of Haskell, England coach Martin Johnson said: "James suits this game. He's come off the bench and been very effective. Tom [Croft] has played very well, it's not a reflection on his performance, we've been happy with him. We're lucky to have two exciting and talented number sixes to pick from."

While a lot of the build up for England last week was around their pack?s expected dominance over the Australian front eight, this week the attention has shift to just off the scrum. Danny Cipriani and Ruan Pienaar clash in the flyhalf channel with both still wanting to prove themselves to be World Class number tens.

Pienaar, better known as a scrumhalf, has done very little wrong since being handed Butch James spot in the Bok team but, touted as the leader of the ?new exciting game plan,? I think even Ruan would admit we haven?t seem much of that just yet.

In Cipriani many English fans believe they have the perfect flyhalf ? a Jonny Wilkinson-like reliable boot combined with Dan Carter-esque creativity and skill. Performances recently though have tended to suggest something else. Without a doubt he is a talented player but whether he is ready to lead his team's attack against the Bok blitz... that remains to be seen.

SA captain John Smit for one has admitted that he is far happier at the prospect of facing young Cipriani than he would be if Wilko was in the England line. "We're very glad Wilkinson is not playing. Those are hard boots to fill and having him on the injured list is to England's disadvantage," said Smit.

The Springboks recent record against England makes very pleasant reading ? having won the five in a row ? but England at Twickenham is an entirely different proposition. In 2006 Jake White broke an almost 10-year drought of wins for the Springboks at the home of English rugby and the same man, now working as a technical consultant for Premiership club Saracens, says that, for anyone who hasn?t tasted victory at Twickenham, it remains an awesome motivating factor.

"A lot of these Springboks have never won at Twickenham," said White

"They've never had that feeling. They've won a World Cup, won in New Zealand.

"Now they'll want to put a victory at Twickenham on the mantelpiece. Yes, the boys have had a tough year but maybe they shouldn't be saying things like that (being tired) because it doesn't help us to prepare for a Test match."

White, who has not always been hugely complimentary of his successor?s ideas, says he cannot believe the South African side took the decision to head to the UK without including any of their overseas based players.

"It doesn't make any sense to me [to leave out some of your countries best players]. You're here to win Test matches.

"South Africa haven't got a flyhalf, yet Butch James is playing unbelievable rugby at Bath, while prop CJ van der Linde is scrummaging at Leinster, and would have been the best man to face Andy Sheridan [Well now Tim Payne but the point is probably still valid.]."

Both bosses, De Villiers and Martin Johnson will have huge pressure to get a result. Should the powerful Bok?s juggernaut fail to overcome a developing England side De Villiers would return to an even more hostile reception from the South African public while Johnson could dearly use a big scalp to kickstart his reign at the top of English rugby.

Former England and Leicester Tiger?s star Andy Goode backed the England side earlier this week, saying: ?This is an exciting England team with plenty of potential, but they need to start somewhere and these autumn internationals are all part of their education at the highest level.

?Looking at the South African team, they might be the world champions, but I do think they are beatable. In fact, I am tipping England to win 25-15.?

While I might disagree with the conclusion there is no denying the Boks are not looking like the team which won last years World Cup and, one dominating performance over Australia aside, they have yet to really producing the style, or results, that the coach is looking for. The question is though, is this England side good enough to take advantage of it?

Players to watch:
For England: James Haskell returns to the England team after two weeks of bench duty ? if I know him ? he will be looking to make a serious impression. Scrumhalf Danny Care had an average display last weekend but will want to make the most of the absence of Fourie Du Preez. Januarie is no easy opponent but watch out for Care?s speed on the fringes. Up front Lee Mears has been a star performer over the last couple of weekends and will be looking to test the Boks captain John Smit?s strength.

For South Africa: World class wing Bryan Habana has had two weekends to forget over the last couple of weeks surely we aren?t in store for a third? Worth keeping an eye on him as he returns to the ground where he marked his debut with a try with his first touch four years ago. Another man needed a big showing is the mighty 'Beast' Mtawarira ? already a legend in the SA?s domestic competition, he needs to step up on the world stage now as well.

Head-to-Head: Three battles to highlight I think and unsurprisingly two of them are in the halfback pairings. Ricky Januarie and Care will fight it out in an intensely competitive battle. Can Cipriani step up to the plate or can Ruan prove he is a world class playmaker? Exciting battle in store either way. Last clash is that of the captains. The now legendary leadership of John Smit up against England?s new head man Steve Borthwick ? how will Johnno?s man handle the pressure and can he motivate his men to a win over the World Champions?

Recent Results: 2007 South Africa won 15-6 Stade de France, Paris WC Final
2007 South Africa won 36-0 Stade de France, Paris WC Pool
2007 South Africa won 55-22 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2007 South Africa won 58-10 Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
2006 South Africa won 25-14 Twickenham, London
2006 England won 23-21 Twickenham, London
2004 England won 32-16 Twickenham, London
2003 England won 25-6 Subiaco Oval, Perth WC Pool
2002 England won 53-3 Twickenham, London
2001 England won 29-9 Twickenham, London
2000 England won 25-17 Twickenham, London
2000 England won 27-22 Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein

Our prediction: It is not often that I disagree with 'Goodey' but I am not sure England are ready to take the Boks down. Even if De Villiers' men fail to reach their potential this weekend there is enough quality in the lineup to grind out a win over their less experienced opponents. I will not be surprised if the young England stars step up and give South Africa a scare but when the final whistle goes the visitors should be ahead ? but probably not by more than 10 points.

England: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Tom Rees, 6 James Haskell, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 Phil Vickery, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Jordan Crane, 21 Harry Ellis, 22 Toby Flood.

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adi Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Ricky Januaries, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Heinrich Brussow, 21 Frans Steyn, 22 Jaque Fourie.

Date: Saturday, November 22
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 14.30 (14.30 GMT)
Weather: Sunny intervals but with low temperatures - Low of -3?C and a high of 5?C
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges: Alan Rolland (Ireland), Romain Poite (France)
TMO: Peter Allan (Scotland)

  • What do you think? How will it all play out? Who will star? Let us know what you think.