England wing Tommy Freeman has expressed confidence that South Africa, despite their recent dominance, are not invincible and has pledged that Steve Borthwick's team will challenge the Springboks fiercely on Saturday. Following four consecutive losses and six defeats in seven matches against tier-one opponents, England now confront the daunting challenge of hosting the back-to-back world champions at Twickenham. England's narrow loss to Australia saw Borthwick's squad slip to seventh in the world rankings, while the Springboks reclaimed the top spot after their 32-15 victory over Scotland.
Borthwick is facing mounting pressure after starting the autumn campaign with two home defeats. Freeman acknowledges that England will enter their first match against South Africa since last year's World Cup semi-final as underdogs. However, after a thorough analysis of the 42-37 defeat by the Wallabies, Freeman is convinced that England can pull off an upset on Saturday. "The World Cup semi-final was a one-point game, and they were clearly rattled by how we approached them," Freeman said. "They are not unbeatable; they are still human, still rugby players playing the same game. We will execute our game plan to the best of our ability, correct some mistakes from last weekend, and go all out against them.
We are not going into this match thinking, 'we expect to lose, but we'll give it a try.' That has never crossed our minds. We are focused on delivering our game plan, and if we do it well enough, we know we can beat any team. The Boks present a unique challenge and are currently at the pinnacle of the sport. We may be considered underdogs, but we are determined to take a significant shot at them."
Freeman has personal memories of facing the Springboks, having been substituted at halftime during their last visit to Twickenham in 2022—a match South Africa won 27-13, marking Eddie Jones's final game in charge. The 23-year-old Northampton winger did not play for England again until this year's Six Nations, having been excluded from Borthwick's World Cup squad. "Being pulled off at halftime was far from ideal; it was not a pleasant experience," he said. "This is an opportunity to rectify that, and it's definitely on my mind.
That was my first game at Twickenham. It was my third cap. My family and friends, who couldn't make it to Australia for my debut, were all watching at Twickenham... it was tough. No one wants that to happen. You hear stories of such incidents, and you never want it to happen to you. But it's behind me now."
To overcome South Africa, England must improve their defensive performance after missing an astonishing 36 tackles against Australia in Joe El-Abd's second match as defense coach since replacing Felix Jones. "We're not far from where we want to be," Freeman said. "There's a bit of hesitation. You want to rush the line, but there's a moment of doubt. I don't think we're doing much wrong; yes, we're conceding, but a lot of that comes from our transition. Once we can stop their transition attacks, we'll look strong."
England's challenge is further complicated by injuries to Tom Curry and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who will both miss the Springboks' visit. After scoring two tries off the bench against Australia, Ollie Sleightholme could make his first England start on Saturday. "It was bittersweet," he said. "It's a dream to play at Twickenham and score, but we should have won the game. It's frustrating because the opportunities were there. The result is what matters, and that's frustrating for everyone."
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