On Monday, Davids went over what he feels they need to work on ahead of the decider at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Cape Town – Springboks assistant coach Deon Davids is confident that their players have learned from the mistakes made in their series-levelling defeat against Wales in Bloemfontein over the weekend.
In their 12th attempt in South Africa, the Welsh scored a try through Josh Adams in the 78th minute, before Gareth Anscombe connected an award-worthy conversion to give Wayne Pivac’s team the 13-12 victory.
The hosts went into the fixture with a new-look side featuring 14 changes to the starting line-up after winning the sloppy opener 32-29 in Pretoria.
On Monday, Davids went over what he feels they need to work on ahead of the decider at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
“We have looked at all the learnings in-depth. Part of making good decisions and putting yourself in good positions is something they would have learned from in this game. In Test-match rugby, you don’t get a lot of opportunities in the opposition’s 22, so if you do get them, it’s important to use them,” he said.
“That demands good execution in terms of individual skills and decision-making, and I think the players would have learned from that. They are quality players, but they can improve next time, if they get the chance.
“They are prepared to go to dark places, they challenge you there,” the forwards coach said of Wales’ physicality.
“Look at how they get stuck in at scrums and stop mauls – that is testament to their ability to get stuck in. We will have to impose ourselves for 80 minutes, and if we don’t do that, it will be difficult.
“You also have to be disciplined against them, and when you get opportunities, you have to take them, otherwise it will become difficult.”
With the defeat, the Boks lost their world No.1 ranking and slumped to third (88.97), with France going top of the list on 89.41 points.
Ireland, who beat the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time, are in second.
When asked if international competition is getting tighter, Davids said: “Teams get better every year.
“They get better in terms of their game plans and adapting to different playing styles. We could also see that in the United Rugby Championship, they adapted quickly over a period of time. I feel the gap between the different international sides is getting closer.
“So ja, I think it’s very close amongst the best teams in the world.”
💥 It's a massive week for the Springboks in Cape Town with the #CastleIncomingSeries decider on Saturday – more here: https://t.co/i5rKJPsFHP#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever pic.twitter.com/ruPALCFLL8
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 11, 2022
World Cup-winning tighthead prop Frans Malherbe added that the onus falls on the whole squad to go out to right the wrongs of last weekend.
“The result is obviously not what we wanted, the team is a squad and what happened at the weekend, it’s our responsibility (as a collective) to rectify that. The situation we’re in is our reality.
“We need to be clinical and responsible in this game. We need to treat it as a final.”
