Head coach Ian Foster has warned New Zealand the past counts for nothing as they head into their World Cup semi-final against Argentina as overwhelming favourites.

The three-time champions have lost just two of 36 matches against Los Pumas and are widely expected to prevail again in Friday’s crunch clash at the Stade de France in Paris.

“There are two teams in the semi-final – anyone can win,” said the All Blacks boss. “That’s the first mindset both teams have.

“We are massively respectful of Argentina. We know that they have had a great tournament.

“We don’t live in the past in terms of results. Rugby World Cup tournaments are really about the present. It’s about the best team on the night.

“If you go into a World Cup semi-final with any expectation that the past is going to happen again, you have got problems.”

Foster has made two changes to his side following the hard-fought 28-24 quarter-final win over Ireland, with Samuel Whitelock coming into the second row and Mark Telea starting on the left wing.

Foster said: “We’ve been really impressed with Argentina. We’re playing a team that we know scrap and fight for every little bit of possession. We are going to have to be at our best.”

Argentina overcame a 10-point deficit to beat Wales last weekend and reach the semi-finals for a third time.

Coach Michael Cheika has recalled Gonzalo Bertranou at scrum-half in his one change to the line-up.

“The history is not in our favour, but it is up to us to change that,” said Cheika, who oversaw a famous win over the All Blacks in Christchurch last year.

“We have a chance to on Friday and we will be ready. When we arrive on the field we will do what we do best.”

Ireland levelled the one-day international series against Scotland with a 79-run victory in their second match in Almeria.

After winning the toss, Ireland opted to bat and opener Leah Paul helped put her side in a strong position, enjoying a second-wicket partnership of 70 with Amy Hunter (56) before being caught and bowled by Priyanaz Chatterji for 58.

Hunter’s dismissal left Ireland on 188 for three but Orla Prendergast kept the runs flowing, eventually falling lbw for 64 to Scotland captain Kathryn Bryce, who then claimed her second wicket of the innings with the capture of Ava Canning.

Ireland skipper Laura Delany finished unbeaten on 28 to set Scotland a target of 271, but despite a solid start from Sarah Bryce and Darcey Carter, they then lost three wickets within 16 runs as Bryce fell for 23 followed by Carter (16), before Chatterji was out for a duck.

Kathryn Bryce then piled on the runs, smashing 67 off 58 balls before being bowled by Freya Sargent, and the spinner clipped the top of leg stump to dismiss new batter Lorna Jack with her very next delivery.

Ailsa Lister tried to dig Scotland out of a hole but wickets were tumbling fast at the other end.

Lister was eventually removed for 47 as Canning picked up her fourth wicket of the game, and the dismissal of Olivia Bell left Scotland all out for 191 as Ireland wrapped up a comfortable win with 11 overs to spare ahead of the final ODI on Saturday.

The Premier League is looking at a cap on a club’s wage bill in order to keep the top flight competitive, Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has said.

The league is looking at a variety of ways to maintain competitive balance, including anchoring – capping the richest club’s wage bills as a multiple of the television money earned by its bottom club.

“As far as competitive balance (is concerned), people need to be bold,” Parish said at the Leaders Week conference at Twickenham.

“I think there is change afoot. UEFA’s squad-cost caps are one idea. Maybe something that is a bit more rigid than that, with a hard cap at the top, that doesn’t take turnover into account, where there are vagaries of how that turnover comes about.

“There are really positive conversations going on about it. We also have to be very careful because there are also unintended consequences. Hopefully we will get somewhere that will be beneficial, not just to the clubs in the Premier League but to the whole pyramid and their ability to compete.

“We are voting for our competitors to be able to do better and challenge us.”

Parish backed the league’s decision to maintain the Saturday 3pm blackout in its next set of domestic television rights.

The league issued an Invitation To Tender (ITT) on Wednesday, featuring an increase from 200 to around 270 matches but keeping the blackout intact.

“I think they made a good decision on keeping the 3pm (matches) off television,” he said.

“I think it is very important for participation and very important for attendance in the lower leagues, and culturally very important.”

The Premier League also confirmed that all matches displaced to the Sunday 2pm slot due to clubs participating in the Europa League or the Europa Conference League on a Thursday night would now be televised.

“I think it’s very frustrating for supporters when a game gets displaced, it’s a big game, and there is maybe a lesser game on television. And that big game isn’t on. So I think increasing the number of games is a positive. The packages have been constructed in a way that they should create good and healthy competition, which is what the consumers want.”

Dual Stayers’ Hurdle hero Flooring Porter is set to return to Cheltenham to make his chasing debut on Saturday week.

Gavin Cromwell’s stable star made every yard of the running to clinch the three-mile hurdling title in 2021 and repeated when successfully defending his crown 12 months later.

However, having finished only fourth when bidding for the hat-trick in March, Cromwell feels the time has come to switch Flooring Porter to the larger obstacles and he is poised to do so in the Cotswolds.

“He’s back on the go and is hopefully going to make his debut over fences next week in Cheltenham,” the trainer told Racing TV.

“He’s jumping well, it’s more of a case of having to go left-handed with him and there’s not very many opportunities for him.

“He jumps really well and he loves it, so we’ll give it a go and see. He can always go back (over hurdles) anyway.”

Marcus Smith was ruled out of England’s World Cup semi-final against South Africa because of concussion, head coach Steve Borthwick has confirmed.

Smith has been replaced at full-back by Freddie Steward after he took a series of blows in the last-eight victory over Fiji that resulted in him finishing the match with a bandaged head and fat lip.

A tackle by wing Vinaya Habosi forced him to undergo an HIA which he passed, but he failed the subsequent return to play protocols and has been stood down for Saturday’s Stade de France showdown.

England have made two further changes to their starting XV with prop Joe Marler and lock George Martin coming in for Ellis Genge and Ollie Chessum respectively.

“Marcus was unavailable for selection due to the return to play protocols. He was ruled out earlier in the week,” Borthwick said.

“He took a knock in the game and passed the first parts of the HIA process, which meant he finished the game.

“Then there are subsequent parts of the HIA process and one part of that he did not pass. And then it was confirmed to me he was unavailable for selection.

“He is perfectly fine in terms of symptoms – he doesn’t feel anything. We’d expect him to be available for selection after this weekend. It’s right to reiterate that player welfare is critical and vital to us.”

Whether a fit Smith would have been retained at 15 is unknown, but it appears unlikely given the precision and variety of South Africa’s kicking game.

Smith offers a cutting edge in attack but Steward is one of the game’s most accomplished full-backs – ultra-dependable under the high ball, strong in defence and a key component of England’s kick-chase.

Captain Owen Farrell is aware of the aerial onslaught coming in Paris but is backing Steward to thrive.

“The thing about Freddie is everybody knows how good he is in the air, everybody knows what a fantastic player he is in general,” Farrell said.

“But it’s the want to do it, the want to be in those battles, the want to go and get the ball back for his team, the want to defuse what’s coming our way. He is one of the best in the world at it.

“The kicking game has been a massive weapon for South Africa for years and years now. They’ve progressed it and they go on with a lot of contestable kicks.

“We’ve done our work and we’ve come up with our plan to negate what we can from them but also looking to be able to attack ourselves.”

The adjustments to the tight five see Marler’s scrummaging prowess get him the nod ahead of Genge, with Borthwick noting that South Africa have the “best scrum in the world”.

Martin will bring physicality to the second row while Genge and Chessum will take their place in England’s answer to the ‘Bomb Squad’ – the heavyweight forward reinforcements that the Springboks summon from the bench.

South Africa this week rejected the suggestion that in their quarter-final victory over France they used HIAs to rotate forwards Mbongeni Mbonambi, Pieter-Steph Du Toit and Duane Vermeulen, enabling them to take a rest.

Director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has a reputation for taking an innovative approach to the laws and testing their boundaries, but Borthwick has faith in the officials to spot any mischief.

“We have got a match officials team that’s world class, led by Ben O’Keeffe,” Borthwick said.

“I am sure everybody around the pitch as well will have every bit of process in place. There is no issues there from our perspective.”

Kyprios is all set for a clash of the staying Titans in the Long Distance Cup on Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot.

Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Kyprios was the dominant force in the staying division last season, winning the Gold Cup, the Goodwood Cup and the Irish St Leger before a 20-length romp in the Prix du Cadran.

He was beaten by Eldar Eldarov on his return from 11 months on the sidelines when defending his Irish Leger crown last month, but O’Brien expects him to strip much fitter for the run – which he will need to do against Alan King’s Trueshan, who has returned to his best of late and is seeking a remarkable fourth win in this race.

Assessing the comeback run of Kyprios, O’Brien said: “We were delighted with him, he was just barely ready to run at the Curragh and we think he’s made progress since then. He seems in very good form and we’re looking forward to seeing him out again.

“I couldn’t believe he made it back to any race really – I couldn’t believe the day he went out of the parade ring at the Curragh he was actually there.

“If everything goes well he would be a great horse to bring back for Ascot (Gold Cup) next year.”

High-profile stablemate Paddington bids to put the seal on a magnificent campaign in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

The Siyouni colt lit up the first half of the season, winning each of his first six races of 2023 including the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh, the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown and the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.

He met with defeat for the first time this year when third behind Mostahdaf in the Juddmonte International at York in August, but having since enjoyed a well-earned mid-season break, O’Brien is hopeful he can show his true colours on Champions Day.

“He’s obviously had an incredibly busy season and turned up in every big race he possibly could have. He’s an incredible horse really, so it was great for us to be able to give him the time and he really appreciated it, we think,” O’Brien told Sky Sports Racing.

“He loves racing and loves work. He’s an unusual horse in that when you build up his work, he starts putting on weight, that’s just the way he is. He loves hard work and he thrives on it.

“He was very impressive in all his races, he’s a good strong traveller and quickens very well and handles all types of ground. We’re looking forward to seeing him out again.”

Paddington was given the option of sticking to a mile and a quarter in the Qipco Champion Stakes, but O’Brien feels he is better suited to the shorter trip of the QEII.

He added: “He goes like a real miler, even though he’s won over a mile and a quarter. I think it was always going to be the QEII for him.”

Unless Paddington is considered for a trip to the Breeders’ Cup in California next month, Saturday could well be his swansong.

“I couldn’t see him staying in training as a four-year-old. He’s a very valuable horse and a very wanted horse at stud, I’d imagine,” O’Brien said.

Jackie Oh is a major contender for the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes after being touched off by Blue Rose Cen in the Prix de l’Opera three weeks ago, but her stablemate Point Lonsdale appears to have his work cut out in a red-hot renewal of the Qipco Champion Stakes.

O’Brien added: “We always thought Jackie Oh would stay further and she loves an ease in the ground – it was probably a little bit too quick for her the last day.

“She’d been working very well and progressing every week as the year went on and her last run was probably by far her best run.

“Point Lonsdale ran well in Leopardstown (in the Irish Champion Stakes), he was only beaten just under four lengths, so it was a good run.

“He’s in good form, obviously it’s a very competitive race. We’re hoping that he runs well.”

Head coach Ian Foster has warned New Zealand the past counts for nothing as they head into their World Cup semi-final against Argentina as overwhelming favourites.

The three-time champions have lost just two of 36 matches against Los Pumas and are widely expected to prevail again in Friday’s crunch clash at the Stade de France in Paris.

“There are two teams in the semi-final – anyone can win,” said the All Blacks boss. “That’s the first mindset both teams have.

“We are massively respectful of Argentina. We know that they have had a great tournament.

“We don’t live in the past in terms of results. Rugby World Cup tournaments are really about the present. It’s about the best team on the night.

“If you go into a World Cup semi-final with any expectation that the past is going to happen again, you have got problems.”

Foster has made two changes to his side following the hard-fought 28-24 quarter-final win over Ireland, with Samuel Whitelock coming into the second row and Mark Telea starting on the left wing.

Foster said: “We’ve been really impressed with Argentina. We’re playing a team that we know scrap and fight for every little bit of possession. We are going to have to be at our best.”

Argentina overcame a 10-point deficit to beat Wales last weekend and reach the semi-finals for a third time.

Coach Michael Cheika has recalled Gonzalo Bertranou at scrum-half in his one change to the line-up.

“The history is not in our favour, but it is up to us to change that,” said Cheika, who oversaw a famous win over the All Blacks in Christchurch last year.

“We have a chance to on Friday and we will be ready. When we arrive on the field we will do what we do best.”

Frankie Dettori’s long-time friend and former agent Ray Cochrane rates Golden Horn’s 2015 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe victory as one of the Italian’s finest moments in the saddle.

Dettori will bring the curtain down on his European career at Ascot on Saturday, with the rider having last week officially abandoned his plan to retire from the saddle in favour of a move to America in the new year following a series high-profile international engagements before the end of 2023.

While Champions Day does not put a full stop on his riding career, Dettori’s final afternoon at Ascot promises to be an emotional affair with many of the jockey’s career highlights having taken place at the Berkshire venue.

He memorably went through the seven-race card at the track in September 1996, while his Royal Ascot victories are too numerous to mention, with Courage Mon Ami’s Gold Cup triumph back in June raising the roof.

However, Cochrane, who was Dettori’s agent for 20 years, felt the rider’s renewed association with trainer John Gosden in 2015 provided the most sparkling of moments as he really kicked off what was to be a glorious autumn of his career.

Cochrane told Betdaq: “We had an unbelievable time, with the big winners he rode, but the one that sticks out is Golden Horn.

“He rang me when I was skiing in Switzerland and said, ‘William Buick has gone to Godolphin’. Immediately I said, ‘Have you rung John Gosden?’, and he said, ‘No’, but I could hear him laughing and then he said, ‘I didn’t need to ring him, he rang me’. I remember saying, ‘Get in there!’. At the time, when Frankie had no job, this was like someone putting a big arm around him.

“He started riding well for John and he rang me one spring morning, and said, ‘Ray, we’ve got one’, but he couldn’t remember his name! I kept asking what his name was and a week later he told me it was a horse called Golden Horn.

“Of course, he went on to win the Derby in his first season back with John, but the race that really sticks out is the Arc de Triomphe.

“He was drawn way out on the outside, which for most riders would be a bad draw. I rang him about it, and he said ‘It’s not too bad – this horse is a big lump and can miss the start, so if he was drawn down on the inside I’ll be shuffled back and my race would be over. At least on the outside, I can slot in wherever I want to. That’s the plan’.

“He told me that he was going to keep wide and go straight up the track for seven furlongs, and when he got to the top of the hill he would shift across and move in behind the pacemaker.

“That’s exactly what he did and it was beautiful to watch. He came into the straight on the bridle, gave him a kick and the rest is history.”

The pair first crossed paths when both were working for trainer Luca Cumani in Newmarket and Cochrane became Dettori’s agent in the aftermath of a tragic plane crash in 2000.

Dettori’s life was saved by Cochrane following an accident in which pilot Patrick Mackey died after their plane caught fire just after take-off on a journey from Newmarket to Goodwood.

Cochrane managed to pull Dettori from the wreckage of the aircraft, receiving the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in 2002 as a result of his actions, but he was forced to retire from racing five months after the incident due to back problems following a series of falls.

He well remembers the day of Dettori’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ though, with Fujiyama Crest’s all-the-way win off top weight in the closing two-mile handicap an experience he is unlikely to forget.

“He’d won the first six races, and by this time he wasn’t walking, he was floating out for his final ride. I followed him out to the paddock and the crowd were all over him,” recalled Cochrane.

“He was drawn on my outside at the two-mile start, and he jumped out and let this horse rip down the outside. We were going flat out down the back at Ascot, we went by the mile-and-a-half start and I heard this roar. There’s a road by the side of the track down the back and I thought it sounded like a tank coming up the side of the road.

“As we were coming out of Swinley Bottom, Frankie was about four lengths clear, and this roar just got louder and I thought, ‘That’s the crowd roaring him on’.

“As we turned into the straight, the noise was unbelievable. It’s the only time in my career that I’ve ever heard the crowd roaring from a mile and a half out. He went on to win of course. It was an unbelievable day and a race I’ll never forget.”

Cochrane also said he has no doubt Dettori will be seen in Britain next year.

“Don’t be thinking that he won’t be back here, he’ll be back at the drop of a hat to ride in all the big races, because that’s what he does. Don’t be expecting this is the last year we’ll see him – I’m sure we can’t get rid of him that quick!

“I’d imagine he’ll be here for the Guineas, the Oaks, the Derby, Royal Ascot, the King George and every other big race he can get a good ride in. I would imagine that John Gosden will call on him regularly, as more than likely will Ralph Beckett if they need a top-class jockey. I imagine he’ll be the first port of call.”

Rogue Millennium will return to the scene of her finest hour on Saturday when she makes her final outing for Tom Clover and owners The Rogues Gallery in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

The four-year-old has been a star performer for her trainer and ownership syndicate over the past two seasons having been purchased for the relatively inexpensive fee of 35,000 guineas in the autumn of 2021.

A consistent performer throughout her time in training with Clover, not only did she take connections to the Oaks after securing the handler’s first Listed success in Lingfield’s Oaks Trial, she also notched up a first Group winner for the trainer when prevailing in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot earlier in the year.

That victory paved the way for Rogue Millennium to contest Group One events in her last three outings and with top-level black type secured when second to Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Tahiyra in the Matron Stakes, connections head to British Champions Day for a shot to nothing at the QEII before Rogue Millennium likely heads to the sales ring in December.

“She will most likely head to the Sceptre sale (held during the Tattersalls December Mares Sale) and it will very likely be her last run for ourselves and The Rogues Gallery,” said Clover.

“She was our first Listed winner, our first Group winner and our first Royal Ascot winner and she has a lot of black type now and has run some fantastic races across Europe. She has just taken us on some memorable journeys.

“For the Rogues and all the different members, it has just been a terrific journey and it has been fantastic to give syndicate owners such big days and go and compete in all these big races against the top connections.

“Win, lose or draw, she has been terrific servant for us but it would be lovely if she could shape up well. It would be a shame to bow out after a disappointing run at Longchamp last time.”

That below-par performance in Paris came when racing over 10 furlongs in the Prix de l’Opera on Arc day.

However, she now returns to the course and distance over which she thrived when successful at the Royal meeting, with the Kremlin House handler taking plenty of encouragement from her effort against Tahiyra at Leopardstown in September.

Clover added: “She has worked very well at home, but it can be very hard to tell if fillies are over the top or not at this time of year. In terms of her home work, she seems really well and she looks well.

“We sort of felt she is a course-and-distance winner and she handled very soft ground at Longchamp (earlier in the season) and I think if having an extra 100 yards or a furlong, you could argue she was closing down Tahiyra in the Matron.

“If she could reproduce that run it would put her in with a shout of being near, which would be incredible for her owners.”

Francis Lee was described as “the life and soul of the game” as football paid its last respects to the former Manchester City and England forward.

The funeral service for Lee, who died on October 2 at the age of 79 following a battle with cancer, was held at Manchester Cathedral on Thursday morning.

Figures from across the sport were in attendance as well as family, friends, associates from other aspects of his varied life and fans.

Lee scored 148 goals in 330 appearances for City between 1967 and 1974, winning the First Division title, the FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Along with Mike Summerbee and Colin Bell, he formed part of a great triumvirate for which the club became renowned.

He also played for hometown side Bolton, earned 27 England caps and ended his career with Derby, where he won another league title in 1975.

Additionally he ran a highly successful toilet roll business and went on to become a prominent racehorse trainer before a spell as City chairman from 1994-98.

In 1974 he scored a stunning goal for Derby against former club City, prompting one of English football’s most memorable lines of commentary from broadcaster Barry Davies.

“Interesting…very interesting!” said Davies as Lee picked up possession and took aim before finding the net and running off to celebrate. “Look at his face, just look at his face!”

Davies was among the mourners to pay tribute on a drizzly morning in Manchester.

“He was a wonderful player, the life and soul of the game,” said Davies. “He was interesting, very interesting!

“He was a character and brought character to the game. When I said, ‘Look at his face’, I had the feeling that he had an expression like a schoolboy who had just scored his first goal for his school team. It was wonderful.”

Others in attendance included Summerbee and Tony Book, the captain of the 1968 title-winning team.

Former Liverpool and Scotland midfielder Graeme Souness was also present, as were former City players Joe Royle, Asa Hartford, Peter Barnes, Alex Williams and Micah Richards.

Tributes were paid at the service that reflected his life at City, his time in the game and in business, and from his family. The address was given by the Ven David Sharples, Archdeacon of Rochdale.

Book, 89, said: “He was a top man. They don’t come any better. He was great in the dressing room, marvellous to be around. It’s very sad.”

Williams, who played in goal for City in the 1980s, spent 33 years in the club’s community department before retiring earlier this year.

He said: “Francis Lee was brilliant. He had Manchester City at heart. He came to us from Bolton and took like a duck to water.

“A brilliant man – he loved the club and supported the club when we needed him.

“We’ve got our neighbours across the city who have their trios and ours was brilliant too – Lee, Bell and Summerbee. They’ll never be forgotten at Manchester City.”

Excitement is building among connections ahead of Sense Of Duty’s crack at the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

Trained by William Haggas, the daughter of Showcasing racked up four victories on the spin before a setback kept her out of action for over 450 days.

Having looked a sprinter to follow prior to her absence, there was plenty of anticipation ahead of her belated return at Newbury last month.

Although only third when racing over a somewhat inadequate five furlongs on that occasion, the Sense Of Duty team were pleased to get a tune-up into the four-year-old ahead of her Champions Day target where opposition includes defending champion Kinross and Julie Camacho’s dual Group One scorer Shaquille.

“It’s a massive day on Saturday and we’re all very excited,” said Richard Brown, racing manager for owner St Albans Bloodstock.

“Andrew (Stone of St Albans) has most of his family and extended family going and we’re hugely looking forward to it.

“I thought she ran very well at Newbury over the minimum distance which would not have been to her liking, but William was very keen to get a run into her with this being the big aim.

“It looks like it is going to be very soft ground which I don’t think will stop her, I think she will like it and we’re excited but we’re also realistic. It will be a big ask.”

Captain Siya Kolisi says the daily struggles endured by millions of South Africans is fuelling the Springboks’ quest to retain the Rugby World Cup ahead of a semi-final meeting with England.

Jacques Nienaber’s side are red-hot favourites to progress from a rematch of the 2019 final to set up a winner-takes-all showdown with either New Zealand or Argentina.

Flanker Kolisi, his country’s first black captain, overcame childhood poverty to lift the Webb Ellis Cup four years ago in Japan.

The 32-year-old referenced homelessness and unemployment during an impassioned answer to a question about motivation and believes failing to give 100 per cent would be “cheating” his compatriots.

“I don’t think that will ever change, who we play for, who we represent,” he said.

“When you start playing for others and start doing things for other people it’s not easy to give up, it’s much harder.

“When you think of how many people would give anything to be where we are and the majority of the people in our country are unemployed, some don’t have homes.

“For me, giving up and not giving everything would be cheating not just myself and the team but the rest of the people at home.

“The harder we play, the more we do well, the more we are able to open opportunities for others so that also drives us.

“I believe we are a purpose-driven team, we’re not a trophy-driven team; of course the trophies help you to get more people with you.

“Sometimes you can look at the struggles of what you’re going through and feel sorry for yourself. But we use that pain and those struggles and we carry them with us to drive us through the battles. It helps us to keep on going when it’s tough.”

Three-time champions South Africa defeated hosts France 29-28 in a thrilling quarter-final to keep their title defence on track.

Kolisi will lead out an unchanged team for Saturday’s match against Steve Borthwick’s side at Stade de France in Paris.

“I wish you could see all the supporters back at home,” he continued.

“This is all what people talk about, most of the time, with everything else happening.

“Kids at schools are sending clips of them singing because they know some of us like singing.

“People at work on Fridays wear their green jerseys and the beautiful thing to see is the people who can’t afford the jerseys, they wear anything that’s green, anything that represents the Springboks.

“We see that and that will continuously be our motivation and we know what the team has meant in the past – not just in sport, for our country in general.

“It’s more purposeful when you don’t do something for yourself, only when you are aiding other people that you don’t even know or never even met.”

Underdogs England came into the tournament unfancied but are the competition’s only unbeaten team.

Kolisi insists Borthwick’s men will not be underestimated, despite many pundits and rugby fans feeling a final between the Springboks and the All Blacks is a formality.

“Obviously we don’t see it that way because we know how good England is in the seven previous World Cups that they’ve played,” he said.

“It would be silly to be thinking like that and we’ve never been like that.

“We’ve seen in the World Cup, teams not even in the top 10 beating teams in the top 10 so it would be silly to think like that. We’re not in that mind.

“We know exactly what we’re going to bring and the motivation we have.”

South Africa team: D Willemse; K-L Arendse, J Kriel, D De Allende, C Kolbe; M Libbok, C Reinach; S Kitshoff, B Mbonambi, F Malherbe, E Etzebeth, F Mostert, S Kolisi (capt), P-S Du Toit, D Vermeulen.

Replacements: D Fourie, O Nche, V Koch, RG Snyman, K Smith, F De Klerk, H Pollard, W Le Roux.