Former Springbok captain Fourie du Preez provided the under-fire Springboks with timely words of wisdom ahead of today’s Rugby Championship clash against Australia at Loftus Versfeld.
Du Preez, who hung up his boots earlier this year after leading the team to third place at last year’sRugby World Cup, inspired the Boks with words of encouragement as he conducted the jersey handover at the team hotel yesterday.
And the Springboks are in dire need of inspiration as they go into the Test under the whip with their unenviable tale of the tape making for ugly reading at four matches played, one win and three losses.
The Springboks will need to beat the Wallabies if they are to arrest their three-match losing streak and climb back into a respectable second place on the log before their match against the unstoppable All Blacks in Durban next week.
An under-fire Springbok captain Adriaan Strauss looked at ease after his team’s interaction with Du Preez yesterday and believes the words of upliftment will inspire his team to make the necessary step-up and maintain their unbeaten record at Loftus against the Wallabies.
“He said we are in a tough spot at the moment and how we get out of it is to remain composed. Having him here was massive for us. He is one of the best players in the history of the game. He is someone I respect, a very wise guy and he knows his rugby. It was more words of encouragement to help us make that step-up,” said Strauss.
But Du Preez’s words could be hollow if the Springboks don’t act on them in the 80 minutes of reckoning against a team that will have their confidence sky high after beating the Springboks 23-17 in Brisbane three weeks ago.
Strauss is confident his team have to deliver victory to alleviate the pressure. He said if they can reproduce the early exchanges they enjoyed in Brisbane for 80 minutes, it should see them through.
“We’ve spoken about composure and so did Fourie. We need to be excited, the energy needs to be there, but we need to be composed so we can make the right decisions at the right time and I believe we can do that.”
As painfully distressing as it has been watching the Springboks play, especially in the many games where they have been the architects of their own demise, they have also shown moments of brilliance which they need to replicate today.
Strauss is adamant that if they cut out errors, they can live up to the expectation and promise they've shown at times this season.
“We are still confident in what we want to do and in the past couple of games we’ve played against ourselves, and that’s our biggest challenge.
“We must cut out errors, get into the right areas of the field and give ourselves the opportunity to play some good rugby.
“When we did that during the season, we were dangerous and effective.
“Confidence is not the issue. Execution and not playing against ourselves on the day are paramount,” Strauss said.
Saturday Star