Tri-Nations
Boks hoping for Bloem boost
2010-09-03 15:20
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Brenden Nel - SuperSportJohannesburg - The Springboks will be hoping that their great record in Bloemfontein will act as an elixir when they try and end their Vodacom Tri-Nations series on a high against Australia on Saturday.
The Boks in the modern era have a magnificent record at Bloemfontein and are unbeaten here since 2000 when the boot of Johnny Wilkinson kicked England to victory against Nick Mallett’s side at the venue. Australia have only won here in 1933 and have lost three of their four games in the city of Roses.
Former Bok coach Jake White launched successful 2004 and 2005 campaigns in the heart of winter in Bloem, often training for three weeks in the cold of the Highveld Free State winter before starting the Test season.
The All Blacks also came unstuck last year when they tried to outrun the Boks in Bloem, and lost 28-19 in the process. There is no doubt the Free State Stadium is an advantage for the Boks, so much so that the Aussies are spending a lot of time trying to “get the monkey off their backs” of losing on the Highveld.
“We’ve had phenomenal success in Bloemfontein,” Bok captain John Smit admitted. “In the 2004 and 2005 seasons we used to come here a few weeks before the test match. It was always the first test for those years and Jake would beat us with fitness for two weeks and then we would play our first test and get off to a good start. It’s been a happy hunting ground for us.
“I think we have phenomenal support here and we come and make sure we spend the whole week here. Our hotel is next to the big mall and the kids love coming in and asking for autographs. We love it here.”
In reaction to the Wallaby focus on beating their Highveld bogey, Smit says the Boks don’t talk about their home ground advantage.
“We don’t speak about it. We could speak about the same lack of results we have in Brisbane. Bottom line - playing away from home is tough,” Smit said.
“We’ve tried to focus this week on concentrating on what we can control – our setpieces, how we play, when we kick and why we kick. When you have a few bad results that come your way, you need to knuckle down and get back to your basics.
“You need to get them back to the level they belong, a 9/10. We’re certainly on our way there but we’re not there yet.”
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