The Springboks are set to tackle the Wallabies in an important must-win Rugby Championship in Sydney this Saturday, with the Bok staff – in addition to prime administration corresponding to Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber – beneath no illusions that strain has begun to construct after back-to-back defeats.
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Yet, in what has to go down as one of many strangest pre-match articles, the Sydney Morning Herald printed an article to counsel that there was a so-called “incident” after an unidentified Bok participant was stated to have “urinated outdoors during a training session” at a Sydney boys’ highschool.
The social media response was swift, and virtually unanimously lambasted the publication for publishing such a bizarre story round such an innocuous prevalence.
It even drew a response from Rassie Erasmus, who said: “We always worry & listen to (South African) people & totally understand & accept the negative & positive advice & comments! So again (South Africa) thank you for always being there for us! We only accept (South African) pressure !!! Tom I don’t think many (South African) fans will take you serious man.”
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Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber might be determined to supervise a victory this Saturday
Already earlier this week Bok coach Jacques Nienaber reiterated that the staff is attempting to give attention to the interior strain and never the noise from outdoors forward of Saturday’s conflict towards the Wallabies.
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“I think the pressure, for myself and the team, is the pressure we put on ourselves,” stated the coach. “I think we all feel pressure because you want to produce for your country, and you’re representing your country. The pressure is trying to get solutions for the next game. It’s not the outside pressure; it’s internal pressure.
“No coach can control the outside pressure. That will come, and it comes with the territory. If you start focusing on it, then you’re focusing on the wrong things. We focus on the things we want to get right, and that is the pressure.
“The external pressure will always be there, and this week it will be on us. It’s on all coaches. If you lose two games, there is going to be external pressure on you. It’s a must-win for all the teams currently,” added Nienaber.
Springbok report towards the Wallabies in Australia:
Played 42; Won 12; Lost 28; Drawn 2; Points for: 702, Points towards: 925; Tries scored 82, Tries conceded 94; Highest rating 38-12 in Brisbane (2013); Biggest win 26 factors in Brisbane (2013). Win % 28,6%.
Milestones:
- Malcolm Marx is the highest attempt scorer within the squad towards Australia with three tries in seven Test matches.
- Siya Kolisi has performed 38 Tests as captain, making him the second most capped Springbok captain behind John Smit, who led the staff in 83 Tests.
Miscellaneous:
- The whole Test caps for the Springbok beginning line-up is
- There are 257 caps within the backline with 470 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are an extra 264
- The common caps per participant within the backline are 36, the forwards 58, whereas the gamers on the bench common 33.