Anybody who has been watching the world champions at work in the northern hemisphere recently will know they are vulnerable, with star performers like Bryan Habana, Victor Matfield and even Schalk Burger struggling to find form.

England, on the other hand, had Australia against the ropes last week-end but granted them a reprieve through ill-discipline. There is no way you can gift a strong team like the Wallabies extra points and get away with it. England was blown up no fewer than eight times and manager, Martin Johnson, was quite rightly furious with his men!

The Boks have also found it remarkably difficult at the breakdown and claim the difference is the standard of refereeing in the north. They have had a long and bruising season, with fans clearly unhappy with the incumbent coach’s new game plan.

Recent injury woes to hooker, Bismark du Plessis, have piled on the misery for the new-look front row that has really battled to find its feet against its powerful northern adversaries. If the English can keep their ill-discipline in check, there is every chance they will be able to tame the lacklustre Springboks at Twickenham on Saturday.

Premier sports bookmaker, William Hill, is currently offering the following odds on the test match at Twickenham - England 11/10, a draw 18/1 and South Africa 8/11.

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Wales will have to be at their best at the Millennium Stadium tomorrow afternoon if they have any hope of clinching the third and final test in the Prince William Cup. The Red Dragons were soundly beaten on the away leg of the competition, losing 43-17 in Bloemfontein and 37-21 in Pretoria.

The Springboks have also had plenty of time to work on the new, brave genre of rugby new coach, Peter de Villiers has recently introduced, not always with consummate success - the Springboks were walloped by their Tri-Nations counterparts earlier in the season!

The recent local Currie Cup competition, however, has proved, without a doubt, that the men in green can play the fast, exciting brand of rugby needed to swell the dwindling fan base and with nearly all the primary players fit and raring to go, it’s going to be a tough ask for Warren Gatland’s men.

With the inclusion of the hugely talented Ruan Pienaar at flyhalf and the return of Fourie du Preez (scrumhalf) and Bakkies Botha (lock), the Springboks are arguably back to full strength. It is a talented team that can leave the likes of Francois Steyn, Ryan Kankowski, Ricky Januarie and Andries Bekker warming the bench!

Online bookmaker, Ladbrokes, has the complete array of betting options on the clash in Cardiff and current match betting odds are Wales 13/8, a tie 18/1 and South Africa 1/2.

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The Springboks took a major pasting in front of a packed house at Newlands last week when the All Blacks got their revenge for the maiden Dunedin win at the front end of the Tri Nations schedule. It wasn’t so much that they lost; it was how they lost - with absolutely no points on the board to the All Blacks 19!

One of the Springbok’s biggest failures was their inability to control the ball at the breakdowns and this was largely due to the awesome display by arguably the best fetcher in the modern game, Richie McCaw and this week’s battle for possession will not be made any easier when the main protagonist is the Wallaby’s stellar performer, George Smith.

Jantjies to start at Full Back
The South Africans have to win the game in Durban on Saturday if they want to remain in contention and coach, Pieter du Plessis, has already made a couple of unforced changes to the starting line up - Conrad Jantjies will run on at full back in place of the veteran of 100 tests, Percy Montgomery and Ricky Januarie has been replaced by Fourie du Preez at scrum half. Jantjies’ inclusion could well add a bit of potency to a back line that is missing the scintillating pace of Brian Habana, who is injured.

Jongi Nokwe will win his second cap on the wing and if he can get the ball in hand, he, too, has blistering pace. Hopefully we will see a lot less of the poor kicking game the Springboks have employed in the past couple of games!

Sports bookmaker, betfred, is offering the following odds on an outright win - South Africa 4/9; Draw 20/1 and Australia 7/4.

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On Wednesday England’s brave new captain, Kevin Pietersen, will lead his men onto the pitch at the Riverside for a one-off Twenty20 clash, hoping he can emulate his fourth test victory against the powerful South African squad.

Pietersen took over the reigns from retired captain, Michael Vaughan, prior to the fourth and final test at the Oval with great success and to make things even sweeter, the shortened form of the game is arguably one of his many strengths.

Shah Promoted Up the Order
Both the England and South African squads look markedly dfferent to their test teams and Pietersen has already implemented a couple of changes to the batting line-up in an effort to use the big hitters to the best advantage. He has dropped himself one place down the batting order to number 4 and new kid on the block, Owais Shah, will move up from number 7 to number 3!

Gibbs Returns to SA Squad
The South Africans have flown in a number of their one day specialists including the precociously talented opening batman, Herschelle Gibbs, who has recently gone through a bit of a slump but is one of the finest batsmen in world cricket when he finds his touch. Another exciting young batsman is JP Duminy who missed out in the test arena but is being groomed for a big future once the likes of Kallis and Prince step out if the limelight.

Whatever the result, the game should be a real cracker as long as the English weather doesn’t spoil the party! Ireland’s leading bookmaker, Paddy Power, is offering odds on a range of options including the top run scorers for each team, the highest opening partnership and which team will hit the most sixes. The current match betting odds are England 11-10 and South Africa 4-6!

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After a week of emotional turmoil following England’s series defeat by the Proteas, Kevin Pietersen will take the reins and guide the hosts into what will hopefully be an entirely new era. Although England faltered at the last hurdle, the test at Edgbaston will arguably go down in history as one of the most exciting and closely contested matches of all times!

Edgbaston a Real Cracker
The long-awaited return of Andrew Flintoff and his unbelievably accurate and aggressive spells against both South Africa’s premier batsmen, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, will be remembered for many years to come and Kevin Pietersen’s masterful innings, although sadly cut short by an injudicious shot when in the nineties, was a lesson in tenacity, self belief and awesome skill!

Pietersen has the ability and the temperament to be an outstanding captain and the fourth test at the Oval will be a wonderful launching pad for his career - the series is done and dusted and all the angst remains with the newly retired Michael Vaughan, so KP has the time to settle and try out new, innovative ideas without too much risk.

Bookmakers Back Pietersen as Top Scorer
The only question will be whether the captaincy will affect Pietersen’s sublime batting. UK bookmakers believe in Kevin Pietersen and his ability to weave the willow and betfred, for one, has him as the out and out favourite to lead from the front as England’s top batsman at 5/2, closely followed by openers, Andrew Strauss at 7/2 and Alastair Cook at 4/1.

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