The Springboks have been working hard on defence, particularly in the mauls, ahead of their game against the Wallabies.
Springbok defence coach Jerry Flannery says the team are aiming for a defensive improvement when they take on the Wallabies in their opening match of the Rugby Championship at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Boks have produced an up and down showing on the defence so far this season, starting well in the rain in Cape Town during their 54-7 thumping of the invitational Barbarians (BaaBaas), before they struggled in their first Test against Italy at Loftus, winning 42-24.
In the second Italian Test in Gqeberha they were immaculate, handing out a bagel, as they clinched a 45-0 win, despite being down to 14-men for most of the match.
In their most recent Test, against Georgia in Mbombela, the Boks started poorly, conceding an early maul try to go down 7-0, before improving drastically and keeping them out over the rest of the game on their way to a 55-10 win.
Hard yards
Earlier this week Flannery said that they had put in some hard yards in training on defence, especially in the mauls, ahead of the start of the Rugby Championship.
“None of us were pleased with how we performed in Italy one. We conceded a maul try in that game and we also conceded a maul try against Georgia. That’s something that teams pick up and look to go after,” explained Flannery.
“So we have invested a lot of time into our maul defence. But I think there is always something that you will be able to work on. We conceded 41 points across the four games if you include the BaaBaas as well, which isn’t too bad.
“So far this season we started really well against the BaaBaas, were really poor in Italy one, we were good in Italy two and then kind of in between against Georgia.
“So there is definitely a lot of scope for us to improve, especially on the back of the level of intensity that Australia has been playing at (recently), and we have tried to replicate that with our training.”
Inexperienced subs
In this weekend’s match the Boks have named two inexperienced props on the bench, in Boan Venter (one cap), and Asenathi Ntlabakanye (one cap), and although they could be thrown into the cauldron if the Boks are struggling in the second half, Flannery said they fully back them to perform.
“When you have guys who are inexperienced (in the squad) you would ideally like to be winning comfortably when you put them on. But we have selected them because we feel they are good enough,” said Flannery. Venter has come into the side late because of an injury suffered by Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
“That even if it is a tight game, we can bring those guys on, because with the amount of work that the front row has to get through, you very rarely see a front ranker play 80 minutes anymore.
“So when we put these (inexperienced) guys in the squad we are saying that if it is tight, we will make the change and bring them on because we trust them. And we do, they have been performing (well) for us and I hope they do it again this weekend.”
