England vs. South Africa: 5 Greatest Moments in Rivalry

England and South Africa have clashed 36 times, per ESPNScrum.com, with the Springboks leading the way with 22 wins to England’s 12. 

You have to go back eight years for the last time England lowered South Africa’s colours, which underlines the size of the task facing Stuart Lancaster’s men this weekend.

They must look to some memorable days in their dim and distant past for successes against their next opponent.

Just don’t mention the World Cup.

England had been whitewashed in the 1972 Five Nations, so they were not expected to travel well on their summer tour to South Africa. There was also a lot of tension around the trip with apartheid causing protests around the world.

Former England prop Mike Burton was on the trip and recalls the public mood before the tour in the Rugby Paper: “I remember being approached by a girl before a Gloucester match at Richmond, imploring me not to go. I wasn’t discourteous to her, but I told her this was possibly the only chance I was going to get to go to South Africa, and I had to be there.”

England fared well in their warm-up games but faced a hugely physical battle in the one Test of the trip.

An Alan Morley try put England in the driving seat and signalled for the home side to "cut up rough" as Burton puts it, but the British Lion was equal to those tactics: “I had to make sure my opposite number understood we were playing on our terms. And he did. We did what we had to do; he was nice and quiet after that and we got through. There were no citing officers to put you on report; it was just a jungle out there, and we won.”

South Africa began their re-entry into the sporting world after the apartheid era with a home Test against England.

With new President Nelson Mandela looking on and a new flag flying over the stadium, the home side could not get the country’s rebirth off to a winning start at Loftus Versfeld.

England thumped the Boks 32-15, with tries from Ben Clarke and Rob Andrew.

The game may have provided a forgettable result for the South Africans, but its political and social significance to the country was of landmark proportions.

The two sides met in Paris in the 1999 World Cup last eight.

England coach Clive Woodward (no knighthood back then) had demanded to be judged on the World Cup and could have had few complaints had the team been judged and dispatched after a demoralising defeat.

The match has gone down in history for the performance of one man.

South African Jannie de Beer kicked an astonishing five drop goals to condemn England to an early exit.

The Boks followed them out in the next round with a defeat to eventual champions Australia.

A year after being dumped out of the World Cup, England began their climb towards the summit, with this victory a major staging post for Woodward’s team.

All 27 points for England were kicked by 21-year-old Jonny Wilkinson, who displayed the cool-headed ability in front of the sticks that would serve him so well in years to come.

The game was also significant for England’s forward display.

The Red Rose pack won the battle with the monstrous South Africans and was never overpowered from that point on as England marched towards the 2003 World Cup.

Jake White guided the Springboks to a second World Cup as they conquered England in a game that had little by way of entertainment—but it could have been oh so different had Mark Cueto’s toenail not brushed the touchline in the act of scoring.

In a game devoid of chances, Cueto came agonisingly close to getting over for England after a scintillating break by Mathew Tait.

In the end, Percy Montgomery won the game with his boot, dashing the dream of consecutive World Cup titles for England.

Having lost 36-0 to the same team in their pool, the result represented a major turnaround for Brian Ashton’s side.