Boks seek 'mental edge'

De Villiers believes victory crucial ahead of 2009 Lions tour

Last updated: 11th December 2008

Boks seek 'mental edge'

De Villiers: Useful reconnaissance

You want that mental edge, you want to go into a Lions series knowing you've beaten the individuals first.

Jean de Villiers
Quotes of the week

England v South Africa, Saturday 2.30pm, live on Sky Sports 2 and HD2

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Centre Jean de Villiers believes victory over England will give South Africa the "mental edge" ahead of the British and Irish Lions tour.

The Springboks have already recorded narrow wins over Wales (20-15) and Scotland (14-10) and now turn their attentions to Twickenham before heading home.

The Boks have been followed around Britain by Lions coach Ian McGeechan - however de Villiers insists that the triple header against the home unions has given his side useful reconnaissance ahead of the summer tour.

"We always knew this whole tour would be important for our preparation for next year and so will this result," said de Villiers.

"We just want to improve on our two performances on this tour and end on a high.

"You want that mental edge, you want to go into a Lions series knowing you've beaten the individuals first."

Comments (1)

  • Page 1 of 1
  • 1

Cassiem Fakier says...

Saturday's game will be tough for both teams but class and experience will win the test and i think the boks has an abundance of both. England will give the boks a run for there money for the first 50min but the boks will eventually pull away. The only way england can beat the boks is if the boks incur major injuries to key players during the game... boks bench is not as strong as it always was.. i predict boks to win 55-12

Posted 10:53 19th November 2008
  • Page 1 of 1
  • 1

Add Comment*

Send us your views

Are you a Sky Sports subscriber?

*All fields required, your email address will be kept private