The Springboks need just a win over Argentina at Twickenham to clinch the Rugby Championship, and captain Siya Kolisi says they won't take it for granted.
The Springboks are back in the driver’s seat and top of the Rugby Championship standings, but captain Siya Kolisi won’t allow his team to become complacent, as they need one more win to secure back to back titles for the first time in their history.
Their stunning 67-30 bonus point win over Argentina in Durban on Saturday lifted them top on 15 points, one ahead of the All Blacks and four ahead of the Wallabies, while Argentina dropped out of the running, sitting bottom on nine points.
The Boks now head over to England, where they will take on Los Pumas again at Twickenham in their final match of the competition this coming Saturday, knowing that a win will likely be enough to lift the trophy, as even if the All Blacks beat Australia with a bonus point, it is practically impossible to reel in their huge points difference.
One more game
“We know what is going to happen next week and how tough it is going to be. We know how it feels in that circle (after a big loss), we have been there before. There is one more (game) for the team. The job is not finished yet,” said a chuffed Kolisi after the match in Durban on Saturday.
“Next week we are going to go as hard as we can to try and win it. It is going to be tough and we know Argentina is going to come out fighting.”
Kolisi spoke highly about the team’s performance that saw the hosts make a number of errors in the first half, allowing Argentina to take the lead on numerous occasions, with the Boks hitting back every time to take a 25-23 lead into the break, before pulling away in the second half.
“We expected a tough start. We knew what Argentina were going to bring, they are a proud team. They took their opportunities in the first half when we made our mistakes,” explained Kolisi.
“But the way we regathered ourselves was impressive. When we made a mistake nobody dropped their heads and we got back up and replied.
“The main message at half time was that we were making stupid errors and [giving away] penalties. But we were able to gather ourselves and improve in the second half, and we came back composed and played as hard as we could, but Argentina didn’t lie down.
“We recognise our mistakes and ill-discipline, but we are also happy with how we responded when we made a mistake. We also must stick to what we do well, like putting the ball in the air, looking after the ball and getting into the 22m so we can take our opportunities.”
Disappointed Montoya
Los Pumas captain Julian Montoya was disappointed with his side’s performance, despite a sprightly first half effort, but admitted that they would have to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and go again in the final match.
“Today we weren’t good enough and I am very disappointed. Credit to South Africa, they are the best team in the world and they capitalised on every mistake that we made,” said Montoya.
“The game is 80 minutes, not 40 minutes, and we weren’t as accurate as we should have been. We lost the physical battle, and then we couldn’t come back from the poor moments. It was a tough day, and now we have to regroup and go again.”
