England asked to share the load

There is not much point trying to drive a Ferrari through a peat bog. So a preference for reliability and load-sharing, rather than eye-catching acceleration away from the grid, was the keynote of the England team announced by Clive Woodward yesterday to tackle South Africa on the windswept marshlands of Twickenham this Saturday.

No one would enjoy zipping past the Springboks for the second successive game more than Woodward, who has named the same pack who featured in the outstanding win in Bloemfontein in June.

But, having taken into account the weather, and the tourists' recent tendency to snatch Test victories in the dying minutes, the England manager has decided his best chance this time lies in a waiting game and a fully-primed bench of replacements.

All 22 of Woodward's match-day squad have been told to expect some action against the Boks, which is some consolation for the likes of Iain Balshaw, whose Bath team-mate, Matt Perry, has been restored to full back in a side containing just two changes from last weekend's win over Argentina.

On faster, drier ground, Balshaw might have got the nod, but the likelihood of more rain and plenty of early defensive work has ensured the immensely capable Perry will reappear for his 34th cap, beating Jonathan Webb's record for an English full back.

"It's the starting pack of forwards we started with in Bloemfontein, but we are going to bring on the cavalry," pledged Woodward, grateful to be talking rugby this week rather than strike action.

"We've got 22 top players and we've got to use them. I'm trying to get through to the Mark Regans and Iain Balshaws that they're not dropped. It's not about individual selections, it's about England winning a game of rugby."

It is not often that rugby grounds are fussed over in the week of a major Test the way cricket pitches are, but Woodward's horses-for-courses policy for this game also sees Matt Dawson preferred at scrumhalf ahead of Kyran Bracken and Julian White retained at tighthead to soak up the early scrummaging pressure, with Phil Vickery's all-round virtues being saved for the second half.

Down by the swollen banks of the Thames at Windsor, where the Springboks are based this week, the new South African coach, Harry Viljoen, acknowledged that England now pose a major challenge whoever they pick.

Viljoen is still in the preliminary stages of reshaping his country's fortunes, but has already seen enough to suspect England have rid themselves of the "mental block" they once had against Southern Hemisphere nations.

"I don't think the South African public, unfortunately, realise how well-organised England are," he said. "The public are very impatient and that is the pressure Springbok coaches are always under. It's a fine line."

Viljoen caused a slight surprise yesterday by naming Stefan Terblanche, who has played all his previous 21 Tests on the wing, at full back in place of the concussed Thinus Delport, and could be forced into another backline reshuffle today. The wing Pieter Rossouw is "90 per cent certain" to miss the game with a hamstring injury, and Percy Montgomery, chosen at outhalf, may yet be asked to revert to full back.