Boks focus on big turnaround

Victory came in the 78^th minute of the Test – when Warren Whiteley finished off a wide sweeping play in the left corner. 

Those last ten minutes of the match were reminiscent of the Boks’ loss in the first June Test against Ireland but the result went in favour of a determined South African outfit this time around. That very fact was something that left Springbok coach Allister Coetzee pleased for a number of reasons.

“When they are on the back foot, they must still have the belief and trust in each other. That comes from our team culture and what we do off the field. Resilience is part of our core values and they’ve shown that,” Coetzee said on Saturday night.

“There is a resolve in the team that cannot be coached, there’s a good brotherhood in the team. Whether you’re overseas-based, whether you’re young or a senior player, they have a mutual respect and it’s a good platform to take this team forward,” the coach said.

While confidence can be taken from the side’s hunger to close out tight Test matches, Coetzee hammered home the importance of an improved performance this coming Saturday in South America.

“I’m pleased with the result but definitely not pleased with the 20 minutes before half-time and the 20 minutes after. We started pretty well and let it slip through opportunities we didn’t take – especially when Bryan broke the line near the corner and made that offload to Eben. That is an opportunity, as well as Lionel’s before half-time.

“We don’t take the points on offer and all of a sudden errors start creeping into our game and we find it difficult to apply pressure again. We don’t put scoreboard pressure on them and then we have to work ourselves out of that hole.”

“We wouldn’t like to bank on the resolve always. What I would like to see us develop is a killer instinct. When we get ourselves into positions on the field that killer instinct must make the execution right. Every opportunity you get on the field must show on the scoreboard. That is a killer instinct and that is the next step.”

The pressure is on the Springboks to start playing with more fluency in the coming weeks. After the All Blacks completely demolished Australia on the weekend, the Boks will be fully aware that nothing less than a well-oiled machine will be able to down New Zealand in the coming weeks.

But despite that fact, Coetzee is firmly focused on beating Argentina in what is a fiercly hostile environment in Salta.

“The focus is really on Argentina. In September, I will have enough time to take a look at New Zealand and Australia. I think we’ve got things to sort out and we’re really serious about getting that right.”

The Boks are expected to land in Buenos Aires late on Monday night.

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