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Cape Town - Springbok assistant coach Johann van Graan says they will be looking to improve all facets of their game when they face the USA in a Rugby World Cup clash in London on Wednesday.
After a humiliating 34-32 defeat against Japan in their first game, the Boks rebounded with impressive wins over Samoa (46-6) and Scotland (34-16).
They went back to basics, and employed a game style which they are accustomed to. It may be a tad more conservative, but that appears to be what works for the team.
Van Graan wants the Boks to forget those wins and focus on the match against the Americans - a bonus-point win would see the Boks top Pool B.
“We’ve got to improve in all areas of the game, don’t look so much about what happened last week, the only thing is tomorrow,” Van Graan said at a press conference in London on Tuesday.
Van Graan though admitted that what they employed in the last two matches worked well - and hinted at more of the same for Wednesday’s match.
“We’ve got a big challenge ahead of us, a big Test match that we need to win, we must focus on our processes to get to that win.
“Obviously, I thought we played quite well over the last two weekends - it was a pretty simple plan which we executed quite well, I believe.”
Wednesday’s clash at London’s Olympic Stadium is scheduled for 17:45 (SA time).
Teams:
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez (captain), 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Jan Serfontein.
USA
15 Blaine Scully, 14 Brett Thompson, 13 Folau Niua, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 Zach Test, 10 Shalom Suniula, 9 Niku Kruger, 8 Samu Manoa (captain), 7 John Quill, 6 Danny Barrett, 5 Matthew Trouville, 4 Louis Stanfill, 3 Chris Baumann, 2 Phil Thiel, 1 Oli Kilifi
Substitutes: 16 Joe Taufetee, 17 Zach Fenoglio, 18 Mate Moeakiola, 19 Titi Lamositele, 20 Cam Dolan, 21 Al McFarland, 22 Mike Petri, 23 Chris Wyles
