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According to the Beeld website, Du Plessis will play his 34th rugby game
of 2012 on Saturday. He started in all of South Africa's 11 Tests this year and
featured in 19 Super Rugby games for the Sharks as well as the last three
rounds of the Currie Cup.
But the 30-year-old medical doctor is ready for one last assignment before a
well-deserved break.
"If you're up for it mentally you can overcome any challenge," he
said.
"We have 80 minutes left against England and want to finish the tour on a
high note. If that's not enough motivation, then I won't know what is."
Despite a few niggles after a long season, the 30-year-old tighthead is adamant
that playing in front of a stadium like Twickenham is enough to get him psyched
up for the occasion.
"You’re always going to have a few bumps and bruises at the end of the
season, but you just need to forget about it and relish the opportunity to play
in a wonderful stadium like Twickenham.
"As soon as God Save the Queen starts, you realise it's going to be
a big one," said Du Plessis.
The clash kicks off at 16:30 (SA time) on Saturday.
England:
15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Tom Wood , 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Alex Corbisiero
Substitutes: 16 David Paice, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 James Haskell , 21 Danny Care, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Jonathan Joseph
South Africa:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp
Substitutes: 16. Schalk Brits, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Elton Jantjies, 22 Jaco Taute, 23 Lwazi Mvovo
