London: Francois Hougaard would’ve been seen in many circles as one of the villains of the Springboks’ surprise defeat to Ireland in Dublin.
And it can’t be denied that Hougaard made a number of unforgivable errors that international scrumhalves simply shouldn’t make.
But, ahead of Saturday’s clash against England at Twickenham, Springbok forwards and attack coach Johann van Graan believes that the team’s sloppy ball retention skills had a hand in Hougaard’s long night at the Aviva Stadium.
And, although it may not be enough to save Hougaard from the axe for this weekend’s game, with Cobus Reinach a possible replacement at No 9, those inaccuracies at the breakdown were the main reason the Boks were unable to put Ireland away on the night despite dominating the scrums and line-outs.
It is an area they will need to improve drastically if they hope to extend their 12-game unbeaten run against England on Saturday.
“I think it would be unfair to single out individuals. As a team, we made some errors and we’ve got to fix it. We’re part of a team, and it starts with the carrier and the presentation, and sometimes the halfback (Hougaard) gets the criticism when the presentation is not up to scratch,” Van Graan said yesterday.
“So, yes, some individuals made errors but we accept responsibility as a team. The breakdown is a big battle, but we knew that before the time. If you look at it statistically, we had 96 breakdowns and we lost five, and Ireland had 60 and also lost five. So, it was a massive battle at the breakdown, and it seems like in the northern hemisphere, they kick the ball more and make it a bit more of a fight (at the breakdowns).
“So, going back to what we do, the breakdown starts with the ball-carrier, who needs to dominate the advantage line, and then it comes down to the reaction speed of our cleaners. That’s one of England’s major strengths, but by saying that, we are the team that wins the most ball on the ground in the world. So, a massive contest is coming up this weekend at the breakdown area.”
The Boks certainly got down to work in that respect with a high-intensity training session at the Upper Latymer School sports grounds in central London, with a great emphasis being placed on how the ball-carrier was presenting the ball in the tackle while under enormous pressure from the defence.
There were some determined runs too, with the likes of Cornal Hendricks and Duane Vermeulen smashing into their “opponents”. The Boks’ pride has been hurt, and they know they cannot afford to miss a beat if they hope to topple an improving England side that will look to take a big step forward by beating a southern-hemisphere giant again for the first time since they beat the All Blacks at the end of 2012.
Coach Stuart Lancaster’s side came up short against the Kiwis at the weekend, going down 24-21, so they will be desperate to knock over a wounded Bok team before next year’s Rugby World Cup in England.
The Irish put tremendous pressure on Hougaard and Handré Pollard in Dublin, with halfbacks Conor Murray and Jonny Sexton running the show for the hosts. England No 9 Danny Care and flyhalf Owen Farrell will look to do a similar thing on Saturday.
“We will play against world-class players ... we have a lot of respect for Danny Care, and I don’t think they will pay too much attention to what Ireland did. England are a world-class team who will focus on their game, and they vary their game quite well,” Van Graan said.
“You just have to look at the All Blacks game to see how they’ve got a very good attack and a very good kicking game, solid defence, solid set-piece. So, like I’ve said before, we are playing against one of the best in the world, and the focus will be on us and we can’t wait to go.
“Personally, I love Twickenham and watched the two World Cup semi-finals in 1999. I think it’s one of the great venues in world rugby and I can’t think of a better place to play a Test match against world-class opponents.
“We lost last weekend and so did they, so both teams will come out firing, and this is what rugby is about – it’s the challenge.” - The Star