Schalk Brits: Hard for Springboks to ‘match intensity’ for England

Brits, the former Springboks hooker and 2019 World Cup winner, answered questions posed by The South African at a LuckyBlock.com event about the Springboks upcoming Rugby World Cup semi-final clash against England at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris.

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Brits became the oldest player (38 years, 170 days) to win the Rugby World Cup when South Africa thrashed England 32-12 in the final in Japan. Brits played hooker for most of his career but was renowned for his versatility and speed, and he sometimes played in the back row.

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Schalk Brits: ‘It’s going to be difficult for Springboks to match the France performance’

Brits told The South African it will be tough for South Africa to emulate the physicality and intensity from their epic performance versus France in the quarter-final against England in the semi-final. 

Brits said: “It’s going to be difficult for the Springboks to match the France performance.

“It [World Cup quarter-final] was a phenomenal game to watch, especially with [Antoine] Dupont back, but will both teams pick the same squad? 

“I would imagine so, but how much will France have taken out of the Springboks?

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“We have one day less to prepare for England, but to get emotionally and physically ready for the game is really hard to do back-to-back. 

“From [playing] Scotland and Ireland to the physical game against Tonga and France.”

“We have to wait and see what kind of performance we can put together this weekend,” added Brits.

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The 42-year-old, who captained South Africa against Namibia at the 2019 World Cup playing eight-man, added: “Rassie [Erasmus] always focuses on physicality and work ethic. 

“How many tackles? How many rucks? How many steals? – things you can quantify and measure,” asked Brits.

“It’s going to be difficult to match the performance South Africa put in against France.”

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