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Cape Town - Springbok wing Bryan Habana says the team will need to improve their attack, kicking game and discipline if they want to beat the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday.
The Springboks started their international year with a 46-10 win when they faced the World XV in a friendly at Newlands last weekend.
The coach and players were happy with the overall performance, especially with the team scoring seven tries against quality opposition, but Habana believes the Springboks will need to deliver a sharper display in Brisbane.
“We will need to be better. Our kicking game needs to be sharper. We need to ensure our individual discipline is better. And we need to protect the ball on attack,” Habana told MyPlayers.co.za.
“Otherwise, we can take many positives from our first game. I’m glad we had opportunities to run the ball, so we could get some air into the lungs. I was very impressed with the performance from our young backline. It’s the first time our 10, 12 and 13 have played together, but they managed to gel. They showed massive potential and hopefully, they can continue to grow with confidence.”
Habana, who is based in Toulon in France, added that he’s excited to be back in the Springbok in what will be an exciting year.
“We had a good season in Europe, and I enjoyed three weeks off before joining the team,” said Habana. “The Springboks offer an amazing and exciting environment, which helps me to settle in whenever I return from Europe. Heyneke (Meyer) and Jean (de Villiers) deserve credit for this as they’ve done all the hard work over the past three years to ensure the national squad offers the players a chance to thrive on and off the field.”
Kick-off for Saturday’s clash at Suncorp Stadium is scheduled for 12:05 (SA time).
Teams:
Australia
15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (captain), 1 James Slipper
Substitutes: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 James Horwill, 20 David Pocock, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Drew Mitchell
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Beast Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Oupa Mohoje, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Lwazi Mvovo
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