One of Scotland's big attacking threats, Duhan van der Merwe, who hails from SA. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images
Assistant coach Deon Davids is not fazed by the prospect of the Springboks tackling a few South African players in the World Cup opener against Scotland on Sunday.
An epic battle is expected to play out between the Boks – ranked second in the world – and the fifth-ranked Scotland, with both teams desperate to win the clash with challenging matches against World No 1, Ireland, Tonga and Romania still to come in the pool stages.
Speaking ahead of the match, Davids warned that the team had to be sharp in all aspects of their game in Marseille, where they will look to get their title defence off to a winning start.
“Every team has their own strengths, and from our perspective, nothing has changed in terms of that,” said Davids.
“Scotland are a good team, so we have to be the best in the way we do things and ensure we stand our ground in each department in this match.
“They play with intensity and there is a good understanding between their players. They also pose threats with or without ball in hand, so as a team we need to be on top of how we control the pressure.
“This game will be about dominance, physicality and alignment in the way we do things.”
Davids was not perturbed by the fact that there were a few South African players in the Scottish World Cup squad, including Duhan van der Merwe (wing) and WP Nel (prop), while they also have a South African scrum coach in Pieter de Villiers.
“We’ve been facing each other for the last few years, so it will be nothing different for either of the teams,” said Davids.
“I coached with Pieter de Villiers at Junior Springbok level, and I worked with Pierre Schoeman and WP Nel many years ago. So, we are looking forward to playing against the team.”
With a successful training camp in Corsica behind them and the team set to have their first training session in Toulon on Tuesday afternoon, Davids was pleased with the Boks’ preparation for the World Cup to date.
“At this stage we are going well,” said Davids. “We had a fantastic camp in Corsica, and even though it was hot there, we adapted well. Looking at the weather in Toulon it’s good that the players were exposed to that because it was similar to what we are experiencing now.”
This story first appeared in sarugbymag.co.za. It is republished here with permission. For the original story click here.
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