Corry out to shock Boks

The Springboks are 12-1 on to beat England in the Stade de France in Paris, and defeat would mean the 2003 winners would require victory over Samoa in Nantes a week tomorrow or effectively face an humiliating early exit.

Corry, who will captain the side in the absence of the banned Phil Vickery, said: "We have had our share of adversity this week. It has drawn the squad closer together. We will take any motivation we can, and the ideal game for us is South Africa. Tonight cannot come soon enough for us. We've had the rollickings after our performance against the USA last weekend, and we deserved them. We let our supporters, we let ourselves and we let the country down."

For England head coach Brian Ashton, the game represents his biggest challenge since taking over from Andy Robinson last December. But Ashton added: "There is a mood within the squad that I haven't seen since I took over as head coach.

"I have not felt that type of atmosphere before, and the key thing now is to rest up. We are ready. There is a completely different mindset from last week."

But South African captain John Smit has warned England they will be facing a different animal to the one they beat on their way to winning the World Cup in 2003.

Smit appeared as a replacement four years ago when Martin Johnson's team rolled over the Boks on the way to a 25-6 win.

Smit said: "This is a different team in almost any category you care to pick. Technically we were found wanting in most areas in 2003.

"This time we have four years of work. If you'd told me in 2002 that we'd have an eye skills coach at the 2007 World Cup, I would have laughed at you. We have had so many things, which have helped us become a technically much better team. And we have three times as much experience as we had in 2003, which is probably our biggest asset."

Experience will be the key for South Africa tonight with full back Percy Montgomery equalling scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen's record of 89 caps.

Os du Randt makes his 76th appearance, Victor Matfield his 62nd and Smit himself his 69th, while five other players have more than 30 caps.