Cape Town – Siya Kolisi says that the Springboks have done their homework and will look to stop Wales openside flank Tommy Reffell from slowing their ball at the breakdowns in Saturday’s series decider at Cape Town Stadium (5.05pm kickoff).
The 23-year-old Reffell – who plays for English club Leicester Tigers – has been highly effective in the first two matches of his Test career, and was the Man of the Match in last week’s 13-12 victory in Bloemfontein, which was Wales’ first over the Boks in South Africa.
Jacques Nienaber’s team have battled to find their rhythm on attack in the series, and a lot of that has been due to Reffell getting stuck in on the ground.
Some referees allow more of a contest for the ball than others, and the Welsh have been smart in going for the ball for as long as they are allowed.
The Boks have been slow to clean-out the rucks, and it’s something they are looking to rectify on Saturday.
“He played well in the last game, and got Man of the Match. I think he got two breakdown steals, and it’s not only the steals, but also slowing the ball down. That’s one of the areas we’ve worked hard on this week to make sure – not specifically for him – but just in general, because there are so many of them,” Kolisi said during a press conference at the team hotel on Friday.
“(Lock Will) Rowlands slowed down the ball, and their hooker (Ryan Elias) gets in there a bit, so it’s the overall game. They have actually stepped up on their breakdown game, and it’s not only about poaching, but blasting over and making sure that the ball is not slowed down.
“That’s why we do research and watch the ref and the opposition players. We see what kind of tackles they make, and that’s the kind of detail we go into so that we know how the ref is going to ref the game. We know we must get in quicker and do that in our preparation and detail, so that when we get onto the field, we don’t still have to think – we get into the action.”
The Boks will look to get their driving maul going as well, after a mixed bag in the first two Tests, and they will hope that the scrum – with a new-look front row of Trevor Nyakane, Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe – advances forward and earns penalties to gain much-needed territory.
🇿🇦 The Boks will not be short on motivation when they face Wales in the #CastleIncomingSeries decider in Cape Town tomorrow - more here: https://t.co/AA9vJvyEng#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever #SAvWAL pic.twitter.com/r786IlgsQv
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 15, 2022
“We play a similar style of play, and set-pieces are obviously important. In the past two games, we didn’t get our set-piece firing – in the second half of the second game, our maul started working. They found ways to stop it,” Kolisi said.
“It’s also about dominance in the set-piece, and who kicks accurately. What they have done well is actually taking their opportunities. We created a couple of opportunities, but it’s the last pass (that doesn’t go to hand) or a knock-on (that stops us from scoring).
“I thought the ref calls for both teams were similar, and we always want to make sure we get scrum dominance. We don’t point fingers, and we can control what we can control to make sure that happens.”
IOL Sport