Springboks assistant coach Deon Davids says they are preparing for a “very tough” clash against England in their final Castle Lager Outgoing Tour match at Twickenham on Saturday.

South Africa arrived in London on Sunday and began getting their preparations for the upcoming test on Monday.

Marco van Staden, Thomas du Toit, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Grant Williams, Johan Goosen and Canan Moodie all linked up with the team following the departure of the six UK and European-based club players.

Davids says he is expecting the hosts to bring their A game against the Springboks but is confident his side are up for the task at hand.

“This is an important game for us, England are a quality team and Test matches here are always big contests, so we know what we are in for,” said Davids.

“We have a great group of players and we are excited to have some of the players from the SA ‘A’ squad back with us and to give a few players a chance to show what they can do in this match.

“The players coming in were part of a bigger group that have had experience at Test level with some having played for the SA ‘A’ team, while there are also some experience players in the squad that we know that that can do the job for us.”

Speaking on the threat England possesses, Davids said: “I don’t think it would be any different this week.

“So we have to be spot on in terms of our focus and how we react to the challenges they will bring in the different departments. We are preparing for a very a very tough encounter.

“The margins between the top tier nations are very narrow as we have seen, so the big thing is we know it won’t be over until the final whistle. I think both teams will always fight right until the end looking at our character and approach, so we have to stay focused.”

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