Why the Springboks will win & England will lose

There is calm in South African rugby and there is progress. I am calling it early: The Springboks to beat England in the June three-Test series.

England have historically won only three Tests in South Africa. At best they’ll add one more victory but they won’t get the decisive two needed to claim a series win.

We’re not Australia. There will be no three-nil waltz for Eddie Jones and his England.

My Sport24 column puts it on the line, before the fact and not with the benefit of hindsight.

I was equally bullish in 2017 when I wrote on Sport24 that the Springboks would smash France three-nil. The headline was ‘Fear not Boks will whitewash France 3-0!’

I was also insistent that the Boks would not win in Dublin. The French series prediction had everything to do with the mess that parades as the French national team who now are ranked ninth in the world.

Ireland, at home, presented a challenge close to the All Blacks in New Zealand. Very little currently separates the playing strength of the two teams. Dublin was always going to be the most critical reflection of the Springboks’s 2017 season – and they were shocking in losing 38-3.

The All Blacks and Ireland, for me, remain the two best teams in the world. England are ranked two but with Rassie Erasmus overseeing the Bok challenge against England, my belief is of a series win against England.

My Sport24 column explains my thinking.

Let me know what you think.