Thursday 31 October 2019 06:46, UK
Elliot Daly has described Cheslin Kolbe as an 'X-factor' player for South Africa as England prepare to face the Springboks in Saturday's Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama.
Kolbe is expected to return having missed the semi-final win over Wales with an ankle injury, with Daly adamant England will have to be wary of his threat.
"I have played against him a couple of times in Europe - he is a good player with very good feet. He is one of their X-factor players and they will look to get him the ball as much as possible," Daly said.
"I don't think his return will change their structure too much, but they will probably just try to give him the ball in space a bit more."
England reached the showpiece event with an impressive 19-7 win over defending champions New Zealand while South Africa booked their place in the final with a bruising 19-16 win over Wales.
Not only is the game a repeat of the 2007 final, which South Africa won 15-6, but there will be plenty of familiar foes on either side, with Faf de Klerk playing in the Premiership and Wille le Roux a former Wasps team-mate of Daly.
"The Premiership is a slightly different game to the World Cup but it is good to play against people like that to get an idea of how they are thinking," Daly said.
"We have to make sure all bases are covered and make sure we do our homework. Wille le Roux is an exciting player as well and I loved playing with him at Wasps.
"He is very excitable on the pitch. When something is on he gets very excited and wants the ball in his hands and is definitely a threat in the back field so it is something we will have to be aware of".
Daly also believes the meticulous planning and experience of head coach Eddie Jones gives England a much-needed advantage to lift their second World Cup trophy.
"He has coached against so many teams that, come Monday morning, he knows exactly how we are going to beat the team on the weekend, and we all buy into that," Daly added.
"It's worked so far in the tournament and hopefully we can do it again come Saturday."
