Wellington – Last week against Australia, the Springboks were not quite sure just how strong Ewen McKenzie’s outfit was.
Having managed a 12-12 draw against the mighty All Blacks in Sydney in their first Rugby Championship fixture, the Wallabies had shown they can compete with Steve Hansen’s side.
But then again, Hansen’s team reacted decisively in obliterating Australia 51-20 the following week in Auckland.
That result left Bok coach Heyneke Meyer in a conundrum – was this Wallaby side that bad? Surely not, and he said as much in the build-up to the Perth Test, stating that he was taking a closer look at the 12-12 game than the 50-pointer.
Doing that may have been the mistake that resulted in the Boks going down 24-23, as it was clear the South Africans had shown a rather average Australian side too much respect.
Yes, it did rain heavily in Perth, but that shouldn’t mean you should kick the ball away when you have front-foot ball inside your opponents’ half.
The coach has insisted in the last two seasons that he wants the Boks to make better use of their possession, and the term “scoring tries” has become Meyer’s mantra. And we have seen extensive evidence of that new approach as Jean de Villiers’ men have produced some thrilling touchdowns.
So to move slightly away from the plan that had been in place since the beginning of last year hurt the Boks on the day.
But for tomorrow’s face-off with the All Blacks at the Westpac Stadium, Meyer has seemingly acknowledged last week’s error firstly with his selection of Handré Pollard at flyhalf – a dashing, but daring move – and then stating “we obviously want to run as well, and we want to move on and hopefully if it’s a dry field, play some open running rugby”.
“You are not going to keep the All Blacks out for 80 minutes just by playing negatively and defending. Their defence is too good, and they play from your turnovers. So we need to be able to play positively and that’s what we are trying to do with Handré at 10 and Jan (Serfontein) at 12,” said Meyer, as Serfontein will switch centre positions with De Villiers often during the game.
But last year’s superb clash at Ellis Park, where the Boks scored four tries but ultimately went down 38-27, has made the coach believe his team can go toe-to-toe with the world champions, although it would also require the players to avoid any unnecessary penalties or yellow cards.
“At Ellis Park, we tried to out-run them, but we weren’t fit enough and they came back. If you want to beat them, you’ve got to enforce how you want to play them, be clinical in everything you do, and maybe the most important thing is taking your chances,” said Meyer.
“We had 21 line-breaks and only scored four tries at Ellis Park, and they had five line-breaks and scored five tries. So there were enough opportunities for us, but we didn’t finish them.
“You can’t have soft moments. You have to minimise your mistakes and take the game to them. Your set-pieces need to be 100percent, and you have to put pressure in the line-outs and scrums.”
Meyer and Hansen have become good friends off the field, with the Bok boss joking this week that his opposite number “owes him one”, meaning a win.
Hansen giggled when asked about it, saying “he probably wants me to get the beer” for him. “We’ve got a wee thing going at the moment – and he’s been getting it lately. So he’s probably keen for me to go and get it.”
But there will be no freebies handed out at the “Cake Tin” tomorrow. If the Boks want to be regarded as serious challengers to the All Blacks, they need to prove it by being precise and assured in everything they do.
No more hesitation when deciding whether to kick or run, or in making a tackle.
And the Boks like to be the underdogs, which they were not in Perth last week.
But they will need to be inspired by “something special”, according to Meyer, and they need to look no further than captain De Villiers, who will earn his 100th Test cap.
“You can’t expect them to have an off-day, and you being lucky and getting a win. You will have to play well, prepare well and execute on the day. We did that in the past and we beat them, and it wasn’t by luck. We know what to expect and we know what it will take, and it won’t be easy, but we believe it is doable,” said the skipper.
There is no better time than tomorrow for the Boks to change the trend of milestone games being a bogey.
But do they truly believe they can beat the All Blacks?
That can only be proved out on that Westpac Stadium pitch. - The Star