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Bloemfontein - Springbok coach Allister Coetzee does not feel under any added pressure this week and insists that his side has no fear of losing against the Wallabies on Saturday.
Coming off the back of a 57-0 hammering at the hands of the All Blacks in Albany two weekends ago, Coetzee has come under fire for the first time this year. That was the worst result in the history of Springbok rugby, and it has left fans and critics questioning where exactly this team is going.
Coetzee tried his best to be firm at Thursday's press conference in Bloemfontein, where local media grilled him over his treatment of Cheetahs wing Raymond Rhule.
On Tuesday, Coetzee had come out in defence of Rhule, saying that he was not the type of coach to drop a player after one bad performance.
Then, 24 hours later, Rhule was dropped and released to the Cheetahs.
READ: WE HAVEN'T CHUCKED RULE AWAY - COETZEE
Coetzee, though, has been through tough times before. Losses to Ireland, Argentina and Italy in what was a woeful 2016 international season tested him, and there were many who thought that he would be sacked after his first year in charge.
"You are put under different kinds of pressures every week," Coetzee said on Thursday.
The coach says that, against Australia on Saturday, the performance will be just as important as the result.
This time last year, Coetzee was desperate for a win against the Wallabies at Loftus having lost in Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.
His answer was to turn to Morne Steyn, who kicked all the points in an 18-10 win. Back then, the result was more important than anything else to Coetzee. This time around, he is taking a different approach.
"Our processes will be the focus point and not the result, although it is important to win," he said.
"We’re not outcomes-driven and we’re not playing out of fear for winning and losing ... that’s not who we are.
"We want to make sure that we improve massively on our set-piece. We know that we have talented players on the field who, if given the ball at the right time on the field, will score tries. This team has worked hard and we all want to turn it around. It wasn’t nice last week but we’ve already buried that."
Coetzee and backline coach Franco Smith have both suggested strongly that the Boks will look to play an attacking, ball-in-hand brand of rugby on Saturday.
Kick-off is at 17:05.
Follow Sport24's @LloydBurnard for updates from Bloemfontein...
Teams:
South Africa
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Francois Louw, 6, Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth (captain), 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Damian de Allende
Australia
15 Israel Folau, 14 Marika Koroibete, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Reece Hodge, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Jack Dempsey, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Scott Sio
Substitutes (from): 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Tom Robertson, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Lukhan Tui, 21 Ned Hanigan, 22 Nick Phipps, 23 Samu Kerevi, 24 Henry Speight
