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Cape Town - Former Springbok assistant coach Gary Gold has predicted that South Africa will be too strong for England in their upcoming three-Test series in June.
Gold was last week appointed as director of rugby at English club Bath after spending the last four months trying to revive the fortunes of English Premiership strugglers Newcastle.
Gold was assistant coach of the Springboks during Peter de Villiers's reign from 2008-2011.
He told Die Burger that England will be competitive but not good enough to topple the Boks.
The series starts at Kings Park in Durban on June 9, followed by Tests in Johannesburg (16 June) and Port Elizabeth (23 June).
"England will be competitive in the set pieces. Their scrum is deadly.
"England won't know much about the new Bok team's lineout, but their plan will be to deprive South Africa of as much possession as possible.
"However, South Africa will be too strong. They'll be full of confidence on their home ground, they'll master their game-plan and win the series comfortably," said Gold.
South Africa will go into the series without much preparation, as there are Super Rugby games scheduled the week before the first Test. The Lions take on the Sharks, and the Bulls host the Stormers the Saturday before the first Test.
But Gold doesn’t foresee any problems. "We should rather see it from a perspective that the SA derbies will provide unbelievable preparation. England will be on the receiving end of a physical onslaught."
Gold was last week appointed as director of rugby at English club Bath after spending the last four months trying to revive the fortunes of English Premiership strugglers Newcastle.
Gold was assistant coach of the Springboks during Peter de Villiers's reign from 2008-2011.
He told Die Burger that England will be competitive but not good enough to topple the Boks.
The series starts at Kings Park in Durban on June 9, followed by Tests in Johannesburg (16 June) and Port Elizabeth (23 June).
"England will be competitive in the set pieces. Their scrum is deadly.
"England won't know much about the new Bok team's lineout, but their plan will be to deprive South Africa of as much possession as possible.
"However, South Africa will be too strong. They'll be full of confidence on their home ground, they'll master their game-plan and win the series comfortably," said Gold.
South Africa will go into the series without much preparation, as there are Super Rugby games scheduled the week before the first Test. The Lions take on the Sharks, and the Bulls host the Stormers the Saturday before the first Test.
But Gold doesn’t foresee any problems. "We should rather see it from a perspective that the SA derbies will provide unbelievable preparation. England will be on the receiving end of a physical onslaught."
