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Town - Springbok coach Peter de Villiers says Australia will provide his team with “a different challenge” to the All Blacks when the two teams meet in a Vodacom Tri-Nations match at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.
GALLERY: Springboks v All Blacks
VIDEO: Referee Nigel Owens sent sprawling
VIDEO: Ma'a Nonu loses a boot
Having surrendered the Tri-Nations title to the All Blacks at the weekend, the Boks have switched their focus to performing well in their final two Tests against the Wallabies, in Pretoria on Saturday and in Bloemfontein next week.
“The Wallabies approach the game with a different mindset,” de Villiers said.
“They do not have the same physical presence as the All Blacks and unlike the All Blacks they will not try to take the ball wide whenever they get the chance.
“They will rely on the a player like Quade Cooper to use the inside ball to bring big runners like Rocky Elsom into the game. We also cannot ignore the impact of David Pocock at the breakdown. He will definitely be a factor.
“We will continue to focus on what we must do and how we want to play. We let ourselves down last weekend but if we can stay within our structures and limit the mistakes and lapses we will be successful”.
De Villiers added he was not concerned over the fitness of his players. “It is true that our guys were tired towards the end of the All Black game,” he said. “But that was from them having to make a lot more tackles in a very high intensity game. Stats that we have from our GPS system show that this was our highest intensity game to date. The pace was the fastest we've had and the intensity of the collisions was the highest too,” he said.
The Bok coach added that his players had “moved on” from the disappointment of the 22-29 loss in the final seconds of the game against the All Blacks.
“It was painful but we have to lift ourselves up again. When I looked at the video I realized how proud these players are and how they stood up for me and the team. I feel good about that,” de Villiers said.
GALLERY: Springboks v All Blacks
VIDEO: Referee Nigel Owens sent sprawling
VIDEO: Ma'a Nonu loses a boot
Having surrendered the Tri-Nations title to the All Blacks at the weekend, the Boks have switched their focus to performing well in their final two Tests against the Wallabies, in Pretoria on Saturday and in Bloemfontein next week.
“The Wallabies approach the game with a different mindset,” de Villiers said.
“They do not have the same physical presence as the All Blacks and unlike the All Blacks they will not try to take the ball wide whenever they get the chance.
“They will rely on the a player like Quade Cooper to use the inside ball to bring big runners like Rocky Elsom into the game. We also cannot ignore the impact of David Pocock at the breakdown. He will definitely be a factor.
“We will continue to focus on what we must do and how we want to play. We let ourselves down last weekend but if we can stay within our structures and limit the mistakes and lapses we will be successful”.
De Villiers added he was not concerned over the fitness of his players. “It is true that our guys were tired towards the end of the All Black game,” he said. “But that was from them having to make a lot more tackles in a very high intensity game. Stats that we have from our GPS system show that this was our highest intensity game to date. The pace was the fastest we've had and the intensity of the collisions was the highest too,” he said.
The Bok coach added that his players had “moved on” from the disappointment of the 22-29 loss in the final seconds of the game against the All Blacks.
“It was painful but we have to lift ourselves up again. When I looked at the video I realized how proud these players are and how they stood up for me and the team. I feel good about that,” de Villiers said.
