The smart money should be on England, and the reasons why it should be are obvious. Whereas the Boks have won just four of their nine matches this year, England have gone nine games without defeat since Eddie Jones took over as coach after England bombed so spectacularly at their own World Cup.
There can also be no denying the massive emphasis that England have put into preparing for this game.
“We’ve been building for this game for a long time. We are ready, we are clear, we are confident,” said England skipper Dylan Hartley.
This generation of England players has not tasted a win over South Africa. The Boks haven’t lost to England anywhere since 2006. That’s one reason why England are so determined. There’s another reason though, and it is why this game was pinpointed by Jones as long ago as the start of the year.
“We are an ambitious team. We want to be No1 in the world. So this game is a crucial point in that progression.”
That was Jones speaking. In other words, with New Zealand not on the England schedule this year, and Australia having already been defeated on their home soil, the Boks represent the final frontier.
Jones and his men have been riding the wave since the former Wallaby coach took over. They have momentum. But Jones is also clever enough to know he needs to continue riding it right through the autumn international season. For a defeat at home to a South African team that has struggled so much in 2016 will very quickly reintroduce doubts and be an impediment to the goal of believing that success at the next World Cup in Japan in 2019 is possible.
As he always is, Jones has entertained in the build-up. He hinted at the old Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope tactic being employed by his team against the Boks when he referred to the late legendary champions clash with Joe Frazier. In other words, England are going to be clever and use wit to overcome brawn. If the Boks are to stand any chance, they are going to have to be accurate as much as they are physical.
The English media have lapped it all up and no-one this side of the English channel appears to be giving the Boks any chance. A lot has been read into the Bok annihilation at the hands of the All Blacks. The tone of the media comment about the Boks this week has bordered on patronising.
But the level of expectation of this England team might just be a trifle over the top. And here is the thing that should bug the mind of any would be punter who wants to bet his house on England winning: Are the Boks as bad as their performance against New Zealand suggested, and how good are England really?
Yes, England did win the Six Nations and they beat Australia in Australia. Is a win over Australia though, even a series whitewash at home, necessarily as big a deal this year as it might have been in the past?
What we know for certain is that the All Blacks are better than the Springboks, and that the All Blacks are also significantly better than Australia. England suggest themselves to be next best, and they look likely to grow into a formidable unit, but it is debatable that they are so far ahead of the rest of the pack that they can’t be challenged by a member of that chasing pack on a given day.
The big question then might revolve around whether the Boks will be up for it. In recent years they have tended to be against these opponents.
As already said, the Boks have given no reason for confidence. Forget the big defeat to the All Blacks, they were lucky to beat Australia in Pretoria before that. There hasn’t been a convincing win of any nature scored in the Allister Coetzee era, and all the games won could easily have gone the other way.
But while it may be a forced gamble, the massive Bok pack selected for Saturday might just have the material to hurt an England unit that is not at full strength. And the England psyche does revolve more around forward dominance and go-forward than most other teams.
