Boks will not be distracted by ‘barking dogs’, says Stick

As much as success breeds further success, it also leads to jealousy and negative attention, and Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick has likened the recent criticism of the South African team to dogs barking in the street.

It is not surprising that Stick should bristle over all the barbs aimed at the Springboks’ style of play, given that he is the attack coach and the national team are hardly struggling to score tries or get their exciting back three into the game.

“We’re not going to lose focus on what we want to achieve. We’re not going to listen to the voices outside,” Stick said.

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“We are the world champions and No 1 in the world so people will always be talking about us. It’s the nature of the position. When you’re winning, you expect that and we have made peace with that,” he added.

“It does not worry us and we won’t be influenced by the white noise. A dog only barks at a car when it is moving; it pees on the car that is parked.”

The backline coach was confident that talismanic eighthman Duane Vermeulen and scrumhalf Faf de Klerk would be available for this weekend’s Rugby Championship clash with Australia at the Super Stadium on the Gold Coast.

“Duane is doing really well at training and hopefully he’ll be ready for the first game against Australia,” Stick said.

“Faf is also coming back and the only guy who’s really still struggling with injury is Rynhardt Elstadt.

“We still have a lot of room for improvement, but we are on the right track. We will focus on what we do best.”