South Africa's Siya Kolisi. Photo: photosport
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi wants his side to maintain their physical presence when they take on hosts Ireland in Dublin, despite two red cards in as many games, one of which was rescinded this week.
Lood de Jager was sent off against France and Franco Mostert versus Italy, but the Springboks won both those games with 14 men.
Mostert's red was later rescinded, while De Jager lost an appeal, but Kolisi says that physicality is part of who they are and what has taken them to back-to-back World Cup titles.
Asked if discipline could be a deciding factor this weekend, Kolisi said they had been working hard on their tackling in particular.
"We want to play with 15 men," he told reporters.
"We've been working really hard on all the controllables, level changing, wrapping, doing that over and over.
"We're an aggressive team, and we can't take that away, which is why we work so hard to make sure we stay on the field."
Kolisi knows his side will have to be at their best to win in Dublin.
"Ireland are a really good team and we have struggled for many years in terms of winning here. We're going to need everybody. It's all about taking opportunities," he said.
"The games we've lost (against them) by one or two points or three points, we've had chances at the end and didn't take them. We've learned a lot and worked really hard this week."
Frustrated Wallabies
Australia have had a frustrating tour in Europe but are hoping they will have learnt valuable lessons from some tough losses over the past month, captain Harry Wilson said ahead of their last November international away against France.
Wallabies captain Harry Wilson. Photo: Daniel Carson/Photosport NZ
The 2027 World Cup hosts face the prospect of four straight northern hemisphere defeats for the first time since 1958 unless they can win at the Stade de France.
They have had a punishing past five months with 15 tests including the British and Irish Lions tour, the Rugby Championship and losses in their November internationals to England, Italy and Ireland.
"In rugby, there's a lot of highs, there's a lot of lows, and the one thing with the lows, you really do learn a lot about yourself, a lot about your teammates," Wilson said.
"It has been a tough tour, but if we can take some learnings from this tour and use it over the next few years, it could really be beneficial for us.
"Losing hurts us so much and all we want is success in the gold jersey and we haven't got it this tour but if we keep learning, keep improving as a team, keep taking those lessons on and use it going forward, it might be very beneficial in the future," the Wallaby skipper added.
Just when they did not need another blow, Australia were forced into two changes to their starting line-up with first-five Carter Gordon and hooker Billy Pollard ruled out due to injury.
Gordon has a quad problem and is replaced as a starter by Tane Edmed, while Pollard has a hip pointer injury that sees Matt Faessler elevated from the bench.
It leaves coach Joe Schmidt short of flyhalf cover among his replacements after he released James O'Connor from the squad ahead of the game.
England change
England's Bath centre Max Ojomoh will win his second cap when he starts at inside centre against Argentina after Fraser Dingwall failed to recover from a rib injury, assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth said.
Ojomoh, 25, the son of former England flanker Steve, made his debut against the United States in July but has not featured in any of England's November internationals.
It is a tough blow for Dingwall, who capped his best performance for England with a try in last week's 33-19 victory over New Zealand.
It also means another midfield shuffle for coach Steve Borthwick, who recalled Henry Slade at 13 for Sunday's game after injury deprived him of Tommy Freeman and Ollie Lawrence.
George Ford of England celebrates victory over the All Blacks. Photo: www.photosport.nz
Seb Atkinson had already been ruled out of the series after looking good at inside centre on the summer tour of Argentina and the United States.
"Fraser Dingwall picked up a side injury during the (New Zealand) game," Wigglesworth said.
"We thought he was going to be all right but he has not quite made it for this one. It's nothing serious.
"We have someone of Max's quality, who has played so well for Bath for an extended period of time, then started the season well, been in and around the squad. He's the guy who deserves the opportunity and we feel he's ready to take the next step.
"He's an elite-level attacker, in terms of his ball movement, his vision, how he connects and he's improved his movement off the ball. The other side of the ball, he's improving all the time.
"You see the teams that he plays in, how much better he makes them when they've got the ball and I expect him to bring that to our team this Sunday."
England are seeking a fourth win in the Autumn Series, a third against Argentina this year and 11th in a row in all.
An England team shorn of their British & Irish Lions beat a similarly-weakened Argentina twice away in the summer but the Pumas showed their class and resilience when coming from 21-0 down to beat Scotland 33-24 last week.
- Reuters
