On Monday, prop Steven Kitshoff and assistant coach Deon Davids reiterated that they remained assured in the Boks’ skills to show the nook regardless of current disappointments.
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The Boks may have a re-match with Australia at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Saturday, the place the group has been primarily based since Sunday afternoon, and a victory can be important to maintain alive their Rugby Championship title hopes. Kitshoff insisted the group had been up for the problem.
“The back-to-back defeats was a bitter pill to swallow, but I still believe this team has the potential and skill to be world-beaters,” mentioned Kitshoff.
“We have three games left in the competition and we have the opportunity to turn things around. We are settled in Sydney. We had our first training session of the week today (on Monday) and it went well, and since we’ve been in Australia for more than a week now, everyone is acclimatised to the time zone.”
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Davids was equally assured that the group was still on course regardless of the current setbacks of their marketing campaign.
“We are definitely still on the right track. We are blessed with a balanced squad with a good mix of youth and experience, and with a few experienced players out with injuries, we have been able to give a few young players a chance in the last few matches, and we believe they will gain a lot from that going forward.”
Both Davids and Kitshoff attributed the group’s 25-17 defeat towards the Wallabies in Adelaide to missed alternatives, with the coach saying it could be one in every of their key focus areas this week.
“We did a thorough review of last week’s game and in the end, it came down to Australia creating opportunities, which they used, while we also created a lot of opportunities, but we didn’t capitalise on them, and that’s our main focus this week,” mentioned Davids.
Kitshoff agreed and mentioned from a participant’s perspective they realised the place issues went mistaken after a match assessment.
“After a assessment of the match, we noticed what number of alternatives we created, which we didn’t rating factors from and that gave us extra confidence. It doesn’t change the outcome, but it surely has made us extra constructive.
“The guys had a great attitude at training today and we are up another big Test this weekend.”
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With Argentina and Australia main the Rugby Championship log with 9 factors after profitable two of their first three matches, and New Zealand on 5 log factors and the Springboks on 4 after profitable one in every of their matches respectively, Davids mentioned it confirmed the high quality of the groups in the competitors.
“The fact that the competition is so competitive shows how challenging this tournament is,” mentioned Davids.
“With the teams playing so well it also means you have to be the best every Saturday to get the result. One can also see the growth of the teams in the competition, and this is great preparation for us a year out before the Rugby World Cup.”
Coach Jacques Nienaber will identify his 23-man squad on Tuesday, 30 August at 11:00 (SA time).
Ahead of him doing so, The South African web site’s Craig Lewis, Garrin Lambley and Dean Boyle have chosen the beginning XVs they consider the Springboks’ brains belief will learn out.
Kick-off for the Test in Sydney on Saturday, 3 September is at 11:35 (SA time) and, as all the time, the greatest place to observe the motion LIVE is on The South African web site.
TEAM PREDICTIONS FOR THE BOKS-WALLABIES REMATCH
CRAIG LEWIS’ EXPECTED SPRINGBOKS STARTING XV
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
GARRIN LAMBLEY’S EXPECTED SPRINGBOKS STARTING XV
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
DEAN BOYLE’S EXPECTED SPRINGBOKS STARTING XV
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
