Boks focus on discipline

South Africa will work hard on their on-field discipline and try to force Wales into losing theirs in the World Cup quarter-final.

South Africa will work hard on their on-field discipline and try to force Wales into losing theirs in the World Cup quarter-final.

Published Oct 13, 2015

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Bagshot, England - South Africa will work hard on their on-field discipline and try to force Wales into losing theirs in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final at Twickenham on Saturday.

Springboks defence coach John McFarland believes try-scoring opportunities will be limited in what is likely to be an arm wrestle between the packs.

That means, just like Wales' victory over England and loss to Australia in the pool stages, the match could be decided by penalties.

“The key to Saturday and any playoff game is your discipline with and without the ball, and you how you don't give the opposition the chance to build the scoreboard through penalties,” McFarland told reporters on Monday.

“It's essential. If you look at the England game (against Wales), the score was 28-25 with one try each, but the chance to build the score through penalties influenced the game.

“We have to improve there and be better, we don't want to give away penalties when they have the ball. We obviously want to force them to give penalties away in that situation.”

Bok head coach Heyneke Meyer has said all along that defence wins World Cups and Australia illustrated that point when they held their line heroically with 13 players in the 15-6 win over Wales on Saturday.

“Everybody was so impressed with Australia, not just their goal-line defence but the way they defended the scrum and kept them out at the line-out,” McFarland said. “That's what World Cups are about.”

South Africa appear to have got their defensive structure in shape after the shock 34-32 loss to Japan in their opening game of the tournament.

They have conceded just a single try in three games since and that came from an intercept against Scotland.

“We are in a good space, we have certainly improved and we have set a marker in terms of our physicality,” McFarland said.

“It will be a tough game on the weekend, knockout rugby always is, so it will be who works hardest, who dominates the collisions and who takes their chances.”

Wales beat a second-string South Africa 12-6 in a friendly in Cardiff in 2014 but the Springboks are bullish about their chances of revenge.

“We are pretty confident that we are going to beat them,” McFarland said.– Reuters

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