Port Elizabeth - It’s no secret that the Springboks have been out-mauled by Ireland in the first two Tests of this three-match series. And that is something that doesn’t sit well with big Bok bruiser Eben Etzebeth.
The Springbok lock almost had an embarrassed look on his face when he referred back to the try the Irish scored from a maul in the second half in the second Test at Ellis Park.
It was a great innovative move by the visiting pack, but it was alarming how easy they made it look when they drove over the line.On attack the Springboks also haven’t been able to make metres from their own maul, as the Irish have either come with a quick sack or have managed to stop them dead in their tracks, and sometimes forced the Boks towards the touchline with clever tactics.
So this week, leading into Saturday’s series decider at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, the Boks are going to have quite a few sessions to sort out this area of the game. They have to fix something which was once regarded as their biggest weapon.”The line-outs, I think they are a very good set-piece team, their mauling has gone pretty well,” Etzebeth said on Monday at the team’s hotel.
”I’m expecting more of the same, trying to keep us in our half and bringing a set-piece battle. We must just front up and I think the guys will be ready.
”I think we must just go out this week, work on our stuff and focus more on what we must do. I think we can improve on our own maul, and also to stop their maul. I was also there when they scored the try, ja ...”
But despite their shortcomings at set-piece time, and the woeful performance in general play – on attack and defence – for the majority of the first two Test matches, the Springboks go into to Saturday’s third Test tied at 1-1 with the slick Irish.It was all because of that 20 minutes of brilliance in the second Test in Johannesburg, which saw them play they best rugby so far under new coach Allister Coetzee.
Etzebeth is hoping that they can continue to from where they left off at Ellis Park.”In the first half we made a lot of unforced errors when we got to their line, we knocked a few balls on and things didn’t go our way,” the Stormers lock said.”In the second half our captain was exceptional, especially when he spoke at half-time.
He said we must just go out, stick to our game plan and things will work out. In the last 20 minutes everything just clicked into gear.”Now we can win the series this weekend. It’s 1-1 and it’s all to play for this week. But then again, when we play for South Africa we want to win every Test match.”
The Star