Cape Town - Springbok assistant coach Gary Gold says they cannot afford to underestimate any of their so-called lesser opponents during the Rugby World Cup.
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The Boks next play Fiji on Saturday, followed by clashes against Namibia and Samoa on September 22 and 30 respectively - all games the South Africans should expect to win comfortably.
However, after Sunday's narrow escape against Wales, Gold believes they cannot afford to take any game for granted.
Gold, when interviewed by Die Burger newspaper, hinted that they might have underestimated the Dragons on Sunday.
"My emotional feeling after the match is that I'm unbelievably relieved that we managed to steal the win," said Gold.
"The one thing that game taught me, is that we cannot dare to be overconfident against any opponent. I know I will be laughed at, but I include Namibia as well."
"I think Namibia showed unbelievable character against Fiji over the weekend and there were surely times when they thought they could win the game against all expectations.
"It showed that we cannot take any game for granted."
The Fijians are renowned for their running and counter-attacking abilities, especially when given enough space. Therefore, it is imperative that the Boks keep the game as tight as possible.
"We will have to keep the ball close to our forwards and not shift it wide like the Fijians. It could lead to mistakes if the ball is just thrown around," said Gold.
Gold also stressed that they would need to keep to their structures and also improve on their tactical kicking.
"If you execute your kicks well, I believe you can - even with the modern rules - put pressure on your opponents."
* Click HERE for the latest Rugby World Cup odds on BET.CO.ZA
Click to BUY the Rugby World Cup 2011 Game for Xbox
Click to BUY the new Drifta Mobile USB Decoder
The Boks next play Fiji on Saturday, followed by clashes against Namibia and Samoa on September 22 and 30 respectively - all games the South Africans should expect to win comfortably.
However, after Sunday's narrow escape against Wales, Gold believes they cannot afford to take any game for granted.
Gold, when interviewed by Die Burger newspaper, hinted that they might have underestimated the Dragons on Sunday.
"My emotional feeling after the match is that I'm unbelievably relieved that we managed to steal the win," said Gold.
"The one thing that game taught me, is that we cannot dare to be overconfident against any opponent. I know I will be laughed at, but I include Namibia as well."
"I think Namibia showed unbelievable character against Fiji over the weekend and there were surely times when they thought they could win the game against all expectations.
"It showed that we cannot take any game for granted."
The Fijians are renowned for their running and counter-attacking abilities, especially when given enough space. Therefore, it is imperative that the Boks keep the game as tight as possible.
"We will have to keep the ball close to our forwards and not shift it wide like the Fijians. It could lead to mistakes if the ball is just thrown around," said Gold.
Gold also stressed that they would need to keep to their structures and also improve on their tactical kicking.
"If you execute your kicks well, I believe you can - even with the modern rules - put pressure on your opponents."
* Click HERE for the latest Rugby World Cup odds on BET.CO.ZA