A stern warning from the All Blacks has put the struggling Springboks under pressure to produce a massive improvement in their Tri-Nations Test in Wellington on Saturday to save the southern hemisphere rugby championship from turning into a lopsided debacle.
The opening two matches of the series highlighted a huge gulf between the All Blacks, who whipped the Wallabies by 20 points, and South Africa who crumbled against the Australians 0-49.
It is now make or break time for the Springboks who must find the means to regroup, prevent another comprehensive All Blacks win and keep the series alive.
That almost certainly means a tough, confrontational encounter, as injuries and the Australian debacle have left the South Africans with little choice but to adopt the ”in-your-face” game plan they know best.
Although their intimidating rush defence failed to fire a week ago in Brisbane, and six tries resulted, coach Jake White said it remained a cornerstone of their approach.
”It’s been working for us and we got it wrong at the weekend. We had different personnel. But to change it now would be [wrong] … it’s about making sure we stick to things we do best,” he said.
White put a brave face on the enormity of the challenge ahead, saying there was no point in dwelling on what happened in Australia.
”We got it wrong … We’ve been very successful the last two-and-a-half years and to go and reflect on 80 minutes in one game would be silly. It’s no use panicking. We’ve got to make sure as a group of individuals we get it right.”
The difficulties facing White have been magnified by a warning from All Blacks captain Richie McCaw that his side can only improve on their 32-12 performance against Australia.
”We’ve got to keep that standard up and certainly against Australia the benchmark was there and everyone who takes the field on Saturday has got to be there or even better,” he said.
The All Blacks have made eight changes to their starting line-up, and McCaw said the competition for selection meant more to the side than dwelling on how South Africa crumbled against Australia.
”Last week was something if you look too much at it’s not going to help you at all. Our goal is to get a consistent level of performance, it’s about setting our standards and that’s the challenge.”
It was a message that Springboks captain John Smit accepted, even though they faced the added difficulty of playing the All Blacks on the road.
”Away wins will be really important this year with an extra away match,” he said.
”We need to bounce back and try and get some momentum going in the Tri-Nations.”
While the All Blacks have a deep talent pool to draw from, White has been forced to cobble together a team without injured stars Schalk Burger, Bakkies Botha and Jean de Villiers.
He will wait until a few hours before kick off to decide if late replacement Butch James or Meyer Bosman will start in the crucial flyhalf position, although he hinted Friday the nod will go to James.
The inexperienced Solly Tyibilika, who struggled for regular game time in this year’s Super 14, has been tasked with contesting the breakdown against McCaw — arguably the best loose forward in the world.
But White suggested that maybe there were some positives in all the difficulties he faced.
”The psyche of South Africa is we’ve probably played our best rugby in the history of South African rugby when our backs have been against the wall.” – AFP
