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Stephen Nell
Cardiff – South Africa passed a character test against Wales on Saturday, but there is still plenty room for improvement ahead of Saturday’s clash against Scotland at Murrayfield.
That is the view of Springbok fullback Gio Aplon, who was one of the Boks’ heroes in their 29-25 win at the Millennium Stadium.
Aplon made a few big tackles when the Boks were under huge pressure, with the one on Tom Shanklin in the 69th minute possibly saving the Boks’ bacon. He also did not hesitate to launch himself into giant wing George North.
“There is nothing else that you can do in the heat of the moment. When you consider the character of the players around you and the motivation that you draw from pulling over the Green and Gold with them, there is no other option than committed defence,” said Aplon.
However, he is not fooling himself about the quality of the Boks’ performance.
“We were definitely not at our best in the first half. We can improve a lot and look to keep the ball in hand more. Wales deserve a lot of credit because they kept the ball and played very good rugby at times,” said Aplon.
“The guys showed a lot of character in the win and I think we deserved it for the manner in which we defended, but we can definitely sharpen up a lot on attack. Hopefully we can try a few things this coming weekend and take our game forward.”
South Africa played into Wales’ hands in the first half with their kicking tactics. Wales ran the ball back well and South Africa’s defence was under a lot of pressure.
“I think Wales learned a lot from what New Zealand and Australia did off kicks in the Tri-Nations. They had four or five guys at the back to run the ball up,” said Aplon.
“It’s something we will have to adapt to in future. Fortunately we won this game and can take all the positives and negatives from it. It’s something we can look at because they had players back and kept the ball in hand.”
South Africa’s tendency this year to fall behind and then play catch-up rugby is also a problem.
Aplon pointed out that it had cost them dearly against Australia in Bloemfontein.
“We have to eradicate it from our game and rather play good rugby from the outset so that we are not in a position where we have to play catch-up.”
While it was a team effort that kept Wales out in the last 15 minutes, Aplon has to be singled out for his courage. He is a superb attacking player, but has now proved once and for all that there should be no doubt whether he’s up to the physicality of Test rugby.
What goes through his mind when he tackles the big guys?
“Go in low and hard ... and hope for the best!”
Cardiff – South Africa passed a character test against Wales on Saturday, but there is still plenty room for improvement ahead of Saturday’s clash against Scotland at Murrayfield.
That is the view of Springbok fullback Gio Aplon, who was one of the Boks’ heroes in their 29-25 win at the Millennium Stadium.
Aplon made a few big tackles when the Boks were under huge pressure, with the one on Tom Shanklin in the 69th minute possibly saving the Boks’ bacon. He also did not hesitate to launch himself into giant wing George North.
“There is nothing else that you can do in the heat of the moment. When you consider the character of the players around you and the motivation that you draw from pulling over the Green and Gold with them, there is no other option than committed defence,” said Aplon.
However, he is not fooling himself about the quality of the Boks’ performance.
“We were definitely not at our best in the first half. We can improve a lot and look to keep the ball in hand more. Wales deserve a lot of credit because they kept the ball and played very good rugby at times,” said Aplon.
“The guys showed a lot of character in the win and I think we deserved it for the manner in which we defended, but we can definitely sharpen up a lot on attack. Hopefully we can try a few things this coming weekend and take our game forward.”
South Africa played into Wales’ hands in the first half with their kicking tactics. Wales ran the ball back well and South Africa’s defence was under a lot of pressure.
“I think Wales learned a lot from what New Zealand and Australia did off kicks in the Tri-Nations. They had four or five guys at the back to run the ball up,” said Aplon.
“It’s something we will have to adapt to in future. Fortunately we won this game and can take all the positives and negatives from it. It’s something we can look at because they had players back and kept the ball in hand.”
South Africa’s tendency this year to fall behind and then play catch-up rugby is also a problem.
Aplon pointed out that it had cost them dearly against Australia in Bloemfontein.
“We have to eradicate it from our game and rather play good rugby from the outset so that we are not in a position where we have to play catch-up.”
While it was a team effort that kept Wales out in the last 15 minutes, Aplon has to be singled out for his courage. He is a superb attacking player, but has now proved once and for all that there should be no doubt whether he’s up to the physicality of Test rugby.
What goes through his mind when he tackles the big guys?
“Go in low and hard ... and hope for the best!”
