The Springboks are approaching their Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies as a ‘final’, but it’s time they actually play like it’s a decider and not just hype it up like one, writes Wynona Louw.
Cape Town – The Springboks are approaching their Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies at Sydney Football Stadium as a “final”, but it’s time they actually play like it’s a decider and not just hype it up like one.
Earlier this week, Bok coach Jacques Nienaber said his injury-hit team are looking to bounce back with a win in Sydney as they aim to stay in title contention.
The Boks suffered back-to-back defeats, one against the All Blacks at Ellis Park and one against the Wallabies in Adelaide, and will this week again go out looking for that elusive win Down Under.
🗣️ Siya Kolisi: "We understand our fans’ frustration and we accept that they are upset. We feel the same…" – more here: https://t.co/tTtph2Gu4G#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever #AUSvRSA #CastleRugbyChampionship pic.twitter.com/nSz88pu41t
— Springboks (@Springboks) September 2, 2022
That Bok horror show at Adelaide Oval last weekend extended the South Africans’ poor run of results in Australia, where they haven’t won since 2013.
They again started slowly and got even worse in the second half, blowing chance upon chance in good field positions, with that final pass not sticking or a knock-on creeping in.
ALSO READ: Another Bok loss simply won’t do for Nienaber
Flyhalf Handré Pollard’s goalkicking was just one flaw in his overall nightmare of a game, and the Boks certainly felt his costly mistakes – in the form of hooked attempts off the tee and a missed tackle on Marika Koroibete in the build-up to his try that will haunt the pivot for a good time still.
But it wasn’t just at No.10 where the Boks had problems aplenty.
A number of players were off their game and the Boks’ defence was an eyesore.
🇿🇦 Eight new players in the Bok starting team for Sydney, where Moodie will make his Test debut
🗣️ “We let ourselves down in the last two games and we are determined to rectify that”
🔗 https://t.co/9xoC8GG7d7#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever #AUSvRSA #CastleRugbyChampionship pic.twitter.com/jNov1eZUU1— Springboks (@Springboks) August 30, 2022
This week, they are going to have to convert the chances they create, they are going to have to be a better unit on defence, the set-piece, the line-out especially, is going to have to fire right from the start and a strong start is going to be just as important as producing a full 80-minute performance.
The Wallabies are a threat in how they just keep going, so that makes the above particularly important, while the Boks are also going to have to be smart when it comes to the Australians’ off-the-ball antics.
“This week is a final for us to stay in the competition and we are expecting Australia to be just as desperate, but so are we,” said Nienaber.
“We let ourselves down in the last two games and we are determined to rectify that this week and change our fortunes in Australia.”
Now, it’s not the first time this season that the Boks have spoken about treating a game as a final, and it’s not the first time we have had to listen to how desperate they are.
All that talk, however, is going to have to come through in their execution this weekend.
It hasn’t been a great season for the Boks. Yes, they won the series against Wales, but they could have done much more, and they should never have lost to a horribly out-ofform Kiwi side.
The Boks are treating this game as a final, and so they should.
Losing yet again could cause panic and disrupt whatever plan is in place to build depth ahead of the next year’s World Cup.
Another loss could mean that the younger, lesser experienced players are held back as more defeats are likely to have the Boks sticking to experience to limit the risk of losing. As Nienaber said last week, Test rugby is about winning.
It’s not even just about snapping their losing streak Down Under; this “final” is going to be important in how the Boks go from here on and, ultimately, how quickly they can actually go into full World Cup mode as opposed to scrambling for a respectable season-winning percentage.
Line-Ups
Australia: 15 Reece Hodge, 14 Tom Wright, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Nic White, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Jed Holloway, 5 Matt Philip, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 James Slipper (capt)
Replacements: 16 David Porecki, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Darcy Swain, 20 Rob Leota, 21 Pete Samu, 22 Jake Gordon, 23 Andrew Kellaway
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (capt), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Kwagga Smith, 20 Duane Vermeulen, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Warrick Gelant
