No panic says de Villiers as S. Africa name team

South Africa have made two changes as they seek to bounce back from their shock defeat by Scotland when they face England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Under-fire Springboks coach Peter de Villiers has recalled scrum-half Ruan Pienaar in place of Francois Hougaard while dynamic number eight Pierre Spies returns to the back row in place of Ryan Kankowski.

The world champions were left shellshocked after being upset 21-17 by Scotland at Murrayfield last Saturday, only a week after the Scots had been crushed 49-3 by New Zealand.

However, de Villiers has largely kept faith with the side beaten by Scotland, saying sweeping changes for the England match were never an option.

“There is no panic. This team has all the ability we need but what we all know is that we have to execute more accurately than we did against Scotland,” de Villier said.

South Africa, aiming to rediscover their form after a poor Tri-Nations campaign, had beaten Ireland and Wales before the reverse against Scotland.

De Villiers said he expected England – brimming with confidence after back-to-back wins over Australia and Samoa – would represent the toughest challenge of the tour so far.