Tough few weeks for Boks - Strauss
Springbok captain Adriaan Strauss admits that the last few weeks have been incredibly testing - as they go in search of a win over the All Blacks in Christchurch.
The Boks have suffered two consecutive defeats in the Rugby Championship. Critics have been scathing of their performances as it seems the Boks haven't quite decided on how they want play under new coach Allister Coetzee.
While they've had passages of good play, the Boks have been guilty of wasting try scoring opportunities and have made too many errors for Test match rugby.
Strauss admitted that the past few weeks had been testing.
“This week the focus was massively on our own execution, what we need to do better and how to execute our plan much better,” said Strauss.
“We want to be more clinical, make less errors and make the right decisions.”
Their most recent loss came at the hands of the Wallabies - who produced a solid second half performance to edge out the Boks who had led at half time. Strauss said his team was still in the process of becoming a finished product.
“There were really some good moments against Australia, when we played some good rugby,” said Strauss.
“But we are not yet the team we want to be, and there’s still a lot of hard work that lies ahead. We did put a couple of things in place this week and we realise we need that type of performance where we fire for the full 85 minutes. Hopefully that can be tomorrow.
“Our standards and our own ambitions are the things which are motivating us. We know where we’re going and we know that we are not there yet, and that is what we are all working towards,” added Strauss.
The Boks face the All Blacks on Saturday morning - kickoff is at 09h35.
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