Joost warns England: Excuses won't wash when you tackle Boks

The most-capped South African has told Standard Sport that he is tired of hearing about the difficulties encountered by Brian Ashton's men ahead of the mouth-watering clash between the two nations at the Stade de France on Friday night, because they are all self-inflicted.

Ashton will learn this afternoon whether or not he will be without captain Phil Vickery after he was cited for a 'trip' yesterday while Jonny Wilkinson is also struggling to make the match with an ankle injury.

But that does not wash for Van der Westhuizen, capped a record 89 times, and he is mightily irritated by the constant excuses delivered by the defending champions.

"England are talking about not having enough time to get it right. Whose fault is that? They have had four years since winning the 2003 tournament to get everything in place," said the 1995 World Cup winner.

"Teams are going to have to be proactive in this tournament from day one and not sit back and hope to still be in the game at 60 minutes and then see what they can do.

"You cannot live in the past and every day have to create new things that will take the team forward, which is something we did against England in the 1999 quarter-final in Paris.

"We had a specific game plan for England in the build up to that game but changed it on the day - Jannie De Beer kicked five drop goals and we won. In 2003, England got their preparation absolutely right for the pool game with South Africa.

"I hope we win this clash, but it's a very difficult one to call - although I can see the Springboks going on to win the Cup.

"Obviously, there is an easy and a tough road for the winner and loser after this match and that is why it is so important."

The victorious team should face an easier route to the final with a game against the Welsh while Australia, who put 90 points on Japan at the weekend, are the likely quarter-final opponents for the loser.

Van der Westhuizen's record number of Test appearances will be equalled by current full-back Percy Montgomery against England, and the scrum-half - who holds the Springbok try record as well with 38 - is hugely impressed with the veteran.

However, he is not happy with the quality of back play from his countrymen and believes the introduction to the coaching staff of Eddie Jones, the former Australia coach, has been the key to improving this area of play. Proof of that came with the four tries scored by turbo-charged wing Bryan Habana in Sunday's win over Samoa.

Van der Westhuizen said: "It's only since Eddie has been working with the Springboks that we have seen some signs of improvement in the backs.

"To the people who insist the coaches have to be South African, the question they need to answer is: Do you win on emotion or knowledge? We cannot afford to set borders when we are talking about rugby knowledge and if he can help South Africa win the Cup then why not use Eddie's talents?"

A veteran of three World Cups, Van der Westhuizen puts his longevity down to rest and he understands the thinking behind coach Jake White's decision to leave major players out during the recent Tri-Nations series.

He explained: "Four years ago Jake said he had a specific plan that would be followed. There was some adverse reaction in South Africa after the Super 14, with people asking why the Springbok squad wasn't chosen on merit for those away games.

"People see why he took that decision, but if he doesn't come back with the Cup them he will face criticism."