Bok boss explains reasons behind team’s uninspiring showing against Pumas

The Springboks have a tough task in trying to improve on their lacklustre win over Los Pumas this past Saturday when they take on the same opponents in Buenos Aires this coming weekend.

The Boks managed to scrape a 22-21 win to end the Rugby Championship on a high, finishing second behind champs, the All Blacks, but they again seemed to struggle to find rhythm and cohesiveness which could once again be the case when they play their first World Cup warm up match this weekend.

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The Boks have three (warm-up) games left before the showpiece event in France and will be naming their 33-man squad for the event after this coming weekend’s clash in Argentina.

Raft of changes

Another raft of changes will be made to the team for the match, with a number of players set to get more game time, as a squad of just 26 was picked for the trip to South America, featuring a few players who have not made a single appearance yet this season.

“We have been trying to get as many minutes into as many players as we can over these past few games. A guy like Joseph (Dweba) has only had a few minutes so far and he will now get a bit of a go,” explained Nienaber.

“Our goal has been getting everybody back into the mix playing rugby again on the international stage and because we have made so many changes that has not allowed us to build good momentum in the team.

“The best way to get cohesiveness is through continuity in team selection. That’s probably where we have put the team under pressure. Every week (so far) we have had different players in key positions, which has given the players a nice challenge to overcome.

“But as we get closer to the World Cup there will definitely be more consistency in team selection.”

Breakdown defence

In the past weekend’s match the Boks snuck a win thanks largely to some fantastic breakdown defensive work and the cold boot of Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras who missed three crucial kicks at goal in the second half, which proved costly as they lost by a single point.

“The amount of attitude the players had in defence was outstanding, and I was proud of the way they made it personal with their ball carrying. We made a couple of mistakes with tactical and technical stuff but that’s the easy stuff we can fix,” claimed Nienaber.

Injuries

 There are a few injury concerns of the Boks to contend with after scrumhalf Grant Williams was knocked out just 10 seconds into his first start for the team by an Argentinean defender trying to charge down his clearance kick.

Williams has, however, not been included in the squad for this coming weekend’s game, but wing Kurt-Lee Arendse has despite coming off the field in the second half with what looked to be an arm or wrist injury.

“On the field it was a definite full-on concussion (Williams) without even going through the head injury assessment protocols,” admitted Nienaber.

“Medically, they will give guidance, but I think he’ll be out for two weeks depending on his symptoms.

“I’m not 100 percent sure with Kurt-Lee, but there is something injury-wise that the medical team was concerned about. However, I don’t have details on that.”