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Bok boss Nienaber continues to punt All Blacks power: ‘They will get it right’
Nienaber also had a lot of sympathy for his fellow head coach Ian Foster, with calls growing louder for him to resign.
Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber. Picture: Lee Warren/Gallo Images
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber continued to punt how dangerous the All Blacks are, despite the impressive demolition job that the Boks did on them during the first Test over the past weekend.
The second Rugby Championship Test at Ellis Park on Saturday gives the home side another opportunity to establish their dominance over their major rivals, however Nienaber was at pains to claim that the visitors would be as dangerous as ever.
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“If you look at the history of the All Blacks I am sure they will get it right. Our job is to make sure they don’t get it right against us. They have such a good coaching side, with so much experience,” explained Nienaber.
“If you look at their team you see how many centurions there are. They’ve got good rugby players, good fans back home, a good structure and organisation as New Zealand rugby. So it is just a matter of time.
“In the (past weekend’s) game they pushed us hard. We scored a try in the 79th minute (to pad the score). So we look at the game from a realistic point of view and that’s the reality, it was a tough Test match that could have gone either way for large periods of the game.
“So I am sure it will turn around but hopefully not against us.”
Sympathy for Foster
Nienaber also had a lot of sympathy for his fellow head coach in Ian Foster, with calls growing louder with every passing day for him to resign after a disastrous run that has seen them lose fve of their last six games and last three in a row.
“As coaches we will always have sympathy for each other. It’s a high pressure environment and I said it last week, when you are a coach in countries where rugby has a massive history like New Zealand and South Africa then there is always pressure with the job,” said Nienaber.
“Not just coaches, but players as well. We know that if you have two or three poor performances you are under massive pressure because there are high expectations.”
