Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick and captain Pieter-Steph du Toit on Friday emphasised that they were preparing for their Nations Championship encounter against Wales in Durban on Saturday with the same seriousness and respect as that with which they approached all Test matches, and predicted a trying encounter.
The Springboks may have a good track record against Wales in recent years, but both Stick and Du Toit said previous results were insignificant going into this encounter. The match kicks off at 17h40 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
“I was there in 2016, 2017, and 2018 when there was a transition in our own system,” said Stick. “We’ve had challenges. In 2018, we had only a 50% winning ratio, but people look at us now and see a world-class team, and Wales are in that same space.
“One or two good results might change everything for them. Back in 2018, our focus was just to beat New Zealand in New Zealand, and then things turned around, and the belief grew.”
Stick added: “I don’t think we were at our best when it came to our kicking game and defence last week. So there’s a lot of room for improvement in how we’re operating as a team, and one of the biggest focus areas this week was the kicking game and how we defend together.
“Wales will probably look at that game and think that if they keep the ball in hand, they’ll pose challenges for us. That said, as long as we keep improving and making our people at home happy, that’s our biggest focus.”
Stick said the team wished to continue building momentum, while planning to build squad depth, with four debutantes in the team – Carlu Sadie (prop), Ruben van Heerden (lock), Vusi Moyo (flyhalf) and Jaco Williams (winger).
“If you look at the team we’ve selected, it tells you how we’re approaching this game,” said Stick.
“A lot of people focus on the debutantes getting their chance, but if you look at the players around them, they are all world-class, and some of them are double Rugby World Cup winners.
“Looking at Wales, they are a world-class team, and people sometimes forget that and focus on results. But we know them very well.
“If you don’t prepare well, they’ll punish you because they also have world-class players, and in my experience from the early days when I started coaching, we used to struggle and lose against them a lot.
“So on a good day for them, if you’re not at your best, it will be tough. We’ve prepared for this game with 100% respect, and that’s the same way we prepare for matches against teams like Ireland or New Zealand.”
Du Toit spoke equally highly of Wales and their loose forwards, saying players such as Jac Morgan and his colleagues were battle hardened and a fierce was expected at the breakdown.
“They have strong ball carriers and are very physical in defence, so we have to get the set pieces right,” said Du Toit.
“We also made some mistakes on defence last weekend, and we’ve tightened that up this week. I’m sure Wales will target those weaknesses, but I’m excited to see if we’ll be able to fix that.”
The duo also shared the excitement about the four debutantes, with Stick saying: “The guys who joined us this year came in open-minded and adapted really fast to how we want to play, how things are done here, how the system works, and what is expected of them.
“The intensity, excitement, and hunger they’ve brought is probably the most important thing. They are thrilled to play and put on the jersey, and for them to get the opportunity to play at Hollywoodbets Kings Park is an unbelievable privilege.”
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