Springbok captain Adriaan Strauss has called on his teammates to be more ruthless when they face Ireland in the second Test at Ellis Park.
The Boks go into the game after a disappointing first match under new coach Allister Coetzee at Newlands a week ago.
The defeat was the first the Boks have suffered to Ireland on home soil, so they’ll be desperate to level matters ahead of next week’s final showdown in Port Elizabeth.
Strauss has pointed to two areas where he and his players must lift their standards if they’re to right the wrongs of a week ago.
“We need to step it up at the breakdowns and we need to finish off the chances we create,” said the hooker yesterday.
The Boks lost plenty of ball in the collisions and breakdowns at Newlands and while they created a number of good try-scoring opportunities they managed to score just two 5-pointers, one of them through an intercept.
“Before the first game we talked about the high standards we have for ourselves, how we want to follow the vision the coach has set out for us, but we let ourselves down, we let the supporters down and we let the country and coach down.
“We want to make a big step up this week. There were positives (at Newlands), like our set pieces and the number of opportunities we created, but we could have finished off a lot better.
“The ruthlessness of getting over the line was just not there. I believe it’ll be there this week.”
To achieve these goals, much will depend on the pack getting the Boks on to the front foot and winning the collisions and hanging onto the ball in the tackles, but also the halfbacks, Faf de Klerk and Elton Jantjies, will have a huge role to play. Strauss is confident the Lions duo will take charge of the contest.
“It all comes down to decision-making. We need to be better in a lot of areas, but I’m confident the key guys, the nine, 10 and 15, will make the right decisions.
“I trust them and know their abilities - they’ve shown in Super Rugby that they’re great players and can make the right decisions. They’re players who have a natural feel for the game and that’s important - I back them fully. They know when to have a go and when we need to play the territory game.”
Strauss added that, as the team captain, last weekend’s defeat was particularly tough to accept, but that he and his players wouldn’t necessarily be looking for revenge today.
“With the responsibility of the captaincy comes accountability,” said the veteran front-row operator.
“Being the captain makes it (the loss) more personal, and then losing on home soil is always tough. Put the two together and it’s not the idea of the start I had in mind.
“This is a great group of players and we owed ourselves a better performance than that (at Newlands).
“We need to right the wrongs - this is not about vengeance, but about performing to our own standards.
“The fans have a certain expectation of us, but we have an expectation, too - It’s now time we lived up to what’s expected of us.
TEAMS
South Africa: Willie le Roux, JP Pietersen, Lionel Mapoe, Damian de Allende, Lwazi Mvovo, Elton Jantjies, Faf de Klerk, Duane Vermeulen, Siya Kolisi, Francois Louw, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Adriaan Strauss (capt), Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Trevor Nyakane, Julian Redelinghuys, Franco Mostert, Warren Whiteley, Rudy Paige, Morné Steyn, Ruan Combrinck
Ireland: Jared Payne, Andrew Trimble, Robbie Henshaw, Stuart Olding, Craig Gilroy, Paddy Jackson, Connor Murray, Jamie Heaslip, Rhys Ruddock, Iain Henderson, Quinn Roux, Devin Toner, Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Jack McGrath
Replacements: Richardt Strauss, David Kilcoyne, Finlay Bealham, Donnacha Ryan, Sean Reidy, Kieran Marmion, Ian Madigan, Tiernan O’Halloran
Referee: Angus Gardner (Aus) – Saturday Star