The Springboks verdict on England's much-vaunted back row

One of the standout performers for England so far this World Cup, if not the standout performer, has been No8 Ben Earl, who has been playing the rugby of his life in both the No8 and No7 jersey so far.

Alongside England’s 104-cap vice-captain Courtney Lawes and British & Irish Lions openside Tom Curry, that makes quite a formidable trio and South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber is aware of that.

After naming his Springboks side to face England in the World Cup semi-final this Saturday, Nienaber described how England’s back row “complement each other quite well”, and commended both Earl and Lawes for how they effectively played an entire match in a two-man back row against Argentina in the opening game of the tournament following Curry’s red card.

WATCH as South Africa’s Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus speaks about the residual beef England will have after the 2019 World Cup Final loss to South Africa

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WATCH as South Africa’s Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus speaks about the residual beef England will have after the 2019 World Cup Final loss to South Africa

“They have a quality back row who complement each other quite well,” he said. “Even when they got a red card against Argentina, the way the other two performed and just absorbed his [Tom Curry’s] role was quite impressive. They are a quality team, we obviously know them through the [English] Premiership. While following our players’ performances, we see them as well.

Before he lavished England’s loose forwards in too much praise, Nienaber did highlight that they are coming up against the exact trio that started in the Springboks’ World Cup final victory over England in 2019. The experienced trio of Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Duane Vermeulen are set to start together for the 15th time, which is a back row record that has only been bettered in green by Francois Louw, Willem Alberts and Vermeulen, who played together 17 times.

Nienaber said: “If you look at our back row, they all started the final in 2019 and they are all on form and playing well, so it’s going to be a nice match-up.”