OWN CORRESPONDENT, Paris | Thursday 10.00am.
SPRINGBOK coach Nick Mallett has demanded more ruthlessness from his side in Sunday’s World Cup quarter-final against England at the Stade de France.
Mallett called on back-rower Bobby Skinstad in particular to make a bigger impact as the South Africans seek a fourth straight win in their defence of the title.
“Bobby has shown he can play the tight game. What I want from him now is to get more physical, particularly in the second half,” said Mallett.
“England have got the players to do it, they can get the job done. Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio have proven very effective in open spaces.”
“The understanding between Bobby and Joost van der Westhuizen is getting better with each game. That combination can become lethal for South Africa if they get it right.”
England sealed a meeting with Springboks with a 45-24 win over Fiji at Twickenham on Wednesday and Mallett has been emphasising the need for greater vigour and a more intense approach.
He has ignored his teams’ indifferent performances in the group games and believes his men will rise to the occasion when it matters.
The South Africans go into the match with the advantage of several days of rest under their belts but are without two key players.
Fly-half Henry Honiball is still sidelined by a hamstring injury that has kept him out since the start of the tournament, while centre Brendan Venter is suspended.
In their absence, there will be plenty of pressure on replacements Jannie de Beer and Pieter Muller.
“We have to begin by dominating England in the scrums,” said Mallett. “If we can do that in the first half, then we can open up our game more and use our forwards as a front row and a back five, instead of a tight five and three loose forwards.
“That’s when we can bring on a player like Albert van den Berg and get our pack really mobile. Ollie le Roux and Chris Rossouw can also make a big impact once we get our game opened up.” — AFP