England tended their bruises yesterday after the defeat by Australia and nursed their decline in the IRB world rankings from fourth to fifth. They have swapped places with Argentina, having leapfrogged the South Americans after the first round of internationals this month, and must look to their laurels against South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday.

Argentina play Ireland in Dublin on Saturday and their lead over England in the rankings is minimal - 82.82 points to 82.11. But a top-four seeding in next month's pool draw for the 2011 World Cup offers the considerable advantage of avoiding one of the Sanzar nations, so England cannot afford another poor set-piece display against the world champions.

Both teams name their starting XVs today and England have Mathew Tait fit again after the Sale Sharks utility back came through a test of his damaged hamstring against Worcester Warriors on Friday. However, South Africa will be without Bismarck du Plessis, the hooker, and Gurthro Steenkamp, the prop, in their last international of the year, while a second prop, Brian Mujati, is recovering from a bruised shoulder. Even with the arrival of Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck's elder brother, they are down to the bare bones.

Fourie du Preez, the scrum half, awaits a further assessment on a thigh strain while Bryan Habana, the wing, is responding to treatment on a bruised thigh. Peter de Villiers, the Springboks head coach, hardly struck a mood of optimism among his ranks yesterday. “We have to ride the wave on the day, sometimes it's difficult to keep going,” he said.

“We play around the clock against the big nations. I just hope we can stand up for the last game. What with Super 14, the guys play in the Currie Cup, the year goes on and on. It's the psychological fatigue that no one sees and that's taking its toll.”

De Villiers also weighed in against the lawmakers after a year playing a fuller set of experimental laws in the southern hemisphere, then a more restricted version in Europe. “The biggest problem is how we manage the breakdown, I don't understand that area any more,” he said. “Against Scotland [on Saturday], there were three occasions where we controlled the play, then we were nailed for going off our feet in their 22.

“They have taken one of our strengths away by changing the maul; now the collision area is getting so soft, I don't think we appreciate it. We can't use our strengths to the best of our ability. It's had a tangible influence on the results of our games.

“I knew this would be a tough year for us, that I would be caught in a Catch-22. We have never fired on all cylinders. We're not over the moon about what we've achieved [on this tour], but, at the moment, two [wins] out of two is exactly what we want.”