England v South Africa Prediction, Preview & Odds – Rugby World Cup SF

We have an England v South Africa prediction for you plus a breakdown of the betting odds, team news and matchups ahead of this Rugby World Cup Semi-Final.

How To Watch England v South Africa

When is England v South Africa?

Kick off is scheduled for 8pm on Saturday, October 21st 

TV Channel

In the UK you can watch this game on ITV1 with pre-match coverage from 7.15pm.

The game will be broadcast in Ireland on Virgin Media One with coverage beginning at 7pm.

Where is England v South Africa Being Played?

The England v South Africa Rugby World Cup Semi-Final will be played in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France.

England v South Africa Odds

England are big underdogs coming into this game at 4/1 following a shaky performance in their 6-point win over Fiji in the Quarter-Finals.

South Africa are heavy 1/5 favourites following their battling win against tournament hosts France.

The draw in 80 minutes is currently priced at a massive 28/1.

Handicap Betting

England: +13 @ 10/11

South Africa -13 @ 10/11

Handicap Draw: +13 @ 18/1

Click Below For Our LIVE England v South Africa Odds

Team News

England Team News

While injury concerns this far ahead of the Semi-Final have yet to be revealed. The decision to start Marcus Smith at Full-Back against Fiji was the major talking point.

While his performance was questionable, he was certainly physically involved in the game after going for an HIA following a head collision. Smith’s starting spot-on Saturday remains uncertain.

Owen Farrell, to his credit, seemingly put the fly-half conundrum between himself and George Ford to bed at the weekend following a captain’s performance against Fiji. His passing was exquisite, and his kicking was the difference as he slotted over twenty points including a drop goal.

South Africa Team News

South Africa won a breathtaking Quarter-Final encounter against France on Sunday 28-29. It has yet to be revealed whether there are any injury concerns ahead of their Semi-Final against England.

One thing is for certain, no matter who is chosen The Springboks have an abundance of riches to pick from in a talent heavy squad.

Referee

Ben O’Keefe (New Zealand)

England v South Africa Weather Forecast

Conditions for this Semi-Final are expected to be calm so conditions should not be a factor in the performance of either side.

Temperature

The temperature is predicted to be 16°C at kick-off.

Wind

Winds are expected to be minimal and in the region of 6mph.

Rain

There is expected to be 0.0mm of rain during the game.

England v South Africa Preview

England’s Form

2023 Rugby World Cup Form

England are unbeaten in the tournament, but despite winning their Quarter-Final against Fiji along with four from four games to top Pool D in reality their form has been uninspiring for some time now.

England narrowly overcame tournament surprise packages Fiji 30-24 to continue their Rugby World Cup journey, but the narrow nature of the victory has plenty suggesting South Africa could give them a comprehensive beating in the Semi-Final

England concluded their Pool Stage campaign with a narrow 18-17 victory over Samoa, where the story of the night was the underperformance of Farrell and Ford getting replaced during the game. They came into that game following two victories 71-0 against helpless Chile and a 34-12 victory against Japan.

They had opened their Pool campaign with a “boring” 27-10 victory against Argentina, which ultimately meant they’d go on to win the pool.

Form Coming Into The 2023 Rugby World Cup

England entered this tournament in poor form, finishing fourth in the most recent Six Nations campaign with only two wins to their three defeats. That extended their poor run of form in the competition since their 2020 success they’ve come fifth in 2021 and third in 2022 as well.

Steve Borthwick has only been Head Coach since it was announced on the 19th of December that he would be replacing Eddie Jones at the helm.

In the first of their World Cup warm-ups, they had a disappointing 20-9 defeat against out-of-form Wales. However, England avenged that a week later claiming a narrow 19-17 home victory. But their final two warm-up matches were defeats, 29-10 against Ireland and most shockingly a 22-30 defeat against South Africa.

South Africa’s Form

2023 Rugby World Cup Form

South Africa’s pool defeat against Ireland meant they had to settle the title “Pool B runner-up” which meant they had a Quarter-Final tie against France to look forward to.

When that match-up came, South Africa put in a heroic performance at the weekend to knock out hosts France and establish themselves as an even bigger player in this tournament and favourites to make the final.

South Africa confirmed their Pool qualification in their final game with a comprehensive 49-18 victory over Tonga. However, it was the game before that made the headlines when a change in the game -plan and subject performance from the boot handed Ireland an 8-13 pool win.

Aside from that defeat though, they’ve been brilliant all tournament with their other two results a 76-0 against Romania and an attritional 18-3 dispatching of Scotland.

Form Coming Into The 2023 Rugby World Cup

This year South Africa came into the event ranked as 2nd in the world winning five of their six 2023 matches before this tournament commenced.

Their sole defeat this season came against New Zealand in the Rugby Championship back in July. South Africa proceeded to win their final four games before the Rugby World Cup with two victories over Argentina, a 52-16 thrashing of Wales and most recently (and perhaps most notably) a 35-7 demolition of the All Blacks in Twickenham.

Matchups And Tactics

England Attack v South Africa Defence

England entered the Quarter-Final stage as the fifth-highest scorers in the tournament so far with 150 points scored and an average of 37.5 points per game. This is despite the fact England has arguably underwhelmed in 75% of their pool-stage matches aside from their 71-0 whitewash win over Chile.

In the Quarter-Final England racked up 30 points against Fiji to stumble into the Semi-Final of the Rugby World Cup through tries from Tuilagi, Marchant including twenty from an under-fire Farrell to secure the victory.

England faces a South African side who had the second-best defence in the tournament (after France) of the Pool Stage conceding 34 points and an average of 8.5 points per game. This is made all the more impressive given their Pool had Ireland, Scotland and Tonga.

In their rip-roaring Quarter-Final against France, they conceded three tries and 28 points against South Africa. However, given the tightness of the game and the quality of the French all that mattered was the victory.

South Africa Attack v England Defence

Entering into the Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final stage South Africa’s strength was not in the attacking areas. Their 151 points scored, an average of 37.75 points per game, was only the fourth strongest of all the Quarter-Finalists.

South Africa scored three tries in their victory against France through the work of Arendse, De Allende and Kolbe to give them the win. Their top-tournament scorers are Reinach (20 points) and Libbock (19 points).

In England, South Africa are coming up against a side who had the third-best defence in the competition coming into the Quarter-Final stage with their 39 points conceded being an average of 9.75 points per game. However, they did concede three tries against Fiji in their narrow win which indicates they can be gotten at in the defensive areas also.

England v South Africa Rugby Head-To-Head

All-Time Head-To-Head Record

England and South Africa have been battling in Test rugby since 1906 and by November 2022 had met in 45 Test matches. South Africa leads the series with 27 test victories to England’s 16. 2 matches have been drawn.

The most recent meeting between the two teams was in the 2022 Autumn Internationals on November 26th 2022. South Africa won that game 27-13.

Head-To-Head Results Last Five Matches

2022: South Africa won 13-27

2021: England won 27-26

2019: South Africa won 12-32

2018: England won 12-11

2018: England won 10-25

Trends

England have won three of the last five games between the sides.

Key Players To Watch

Owen Farrell – England

The English captain silenced plenty of his critics in their Quarter-Final victory against Fiji when he clocked up a 20-point total including a successful drop goal in their five-point victory.

His place in the side is certainly secure for the Semi-Final and a huge performance will be needed if they’re to overcome the Springboks.

Cheslin Kolbe – South Africa

The Toulon Winger was brilliant in their victory against the French at the weekend.

Kolbe put in a remarkable performance including blocking down a conversion attempt and scoring his first tournament try. When things looked toughest for the Springboks he always seemed to come alive during the big moments.

England v South Africa Prediction & Best Bet

Prediction: England 10-22 South Africa

England have flattered to deceive and rode their luck throughout this tournament. Yet thanks to a fortunate draw they find themselves in a Rugby World Cup Semi-Final with a puncher’s chance of making the final.

The Springboks on the other hand come into this game high in confidence following their dethroning of hosts France at the weekend. It seems like the Springboks have gone from strength to strength since their pool defeat against Ireland.

Some are predicting South Africa to blow the English away and while I think they win I don’t think it’ll be the walkover many are expecting it to be.

Best Bet: England +15 @ 8/11

Click Below For Our LIVE England v South Africa Odds

*Prices subject to fluctuation

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