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Perennial Rugby World Cup underdogs miss 2027, Belgium survive ugly red card
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Springboks bank on the inside knowledge they have on Marcus Smith
By PA
South Africa want Jerry Flannery to draw on his inside knowledge of Marcus Smith to shut down England’s playmaker at Allianz Stadium on Saturday. Harlequins ringmaster Smith was England’s most dangerous player in Saturday’s 42-37 defeat by Australia, helping to set up four of their five tries in an attacking masterclass.
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“We were keen to suffocate him, but he just kept breathing,” said an impressed Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt after the match. Flannery has a deep understanding of Smith’s game, gathered during his four-year spell as an assistant coach for Harlequins, a post he held until joining Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks this year.
“Marcus is a class player,” South Africa attacking coach Tony Brown said. “Given time and space, there is not too many better at making the most of little opportunities for all the players around him. He is outstanding at the kick pass.
“Jerry has had a lot of time with Marcus Smith and knows him well. He will be under a little bit of pressure to make sure Marcus doesn’t get those opportunities this week.”
Saturday’s rematch of their Rugby World Cup semi-final in Paris 12 months ago is laced with bad blood. A stormy 16-15 victory for South Africa soon became the subject of a bitter race row after England’s Tom Curry claimed that Bongi Mbonambi had called him a “white ****”.
World Rugby found “insufficient evidence” to support Curry’s allegation and Mbonambi said it was a “misunderstanding” because he was speaking Afrikaans. Curry has been ruled out of the South Africa showdown because of concussion and scrum-half Cobus Reinach insisted his team could not afford to be drawn into a grudge match.
“If we get into that, it is going to take us away from the actual Test,” Reinach said. “We need to focus on what is coming on Saturday and how to put our plan on the field. If we lose sight of what we want to do we might be embarrassed or not happy with our performance.”
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South Africa captain Siya Kolisi has been cleared to play at Twickenham despite suffering a minor eye injury against Scotland on Sunday.
