Boks play within the laws, don’t take shortcuts – Steven Kitshoff

Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff didn’t want to comment too much on the poor gamesmanship shown by the Wallabies during the Rugby Championship clash over the past weekend, but admitted that the Boks wanted to play in the right spirit.

The Australians used a number of questionable tactics in the match, including scrumhalf Nic White making an embarrassing meal out of a brief touch by the finger of opposite number Faf de Klerk, leading to him being yellow carded.

Kitshoff would not be drawn into the call, but did aim a thinly veiled jab at the Aussie tactics.

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“As a team we never look for opportunities (to play illegally). We want to play the game within the law book with as much aggression, power and speed as possible and we never look for shortcuts in anyway,” explained Kitshoff.

“Games are played where everyone is trying to get the upper hand as much as possible. But it then all comes down to the refs interpretation, the way the game is blown and how it pans out.

“So I don’t want to comment on them (the Aussies) getting away with certain tricks or tactics, we just want to play a great Test match.”

Focused on coming match

Kitshoff admitted that the team was not happy with their performance over the weekend, but claimed that they had already put the result behind them and were now focusing on the next match.

“From the players point of view, post-game, we were obviously extremely disappointed. We gave ourselves a lot of opportunities where we could have scored tries,” explained Kitshoff.

“We played some very good rugby during those 15 minutes before halftime where we couldn’t really get any points on the scoreboard, which was extremely frustrating and then we allowed them to score two quick tries just after halftime.

“So from that point of view after the game we were disappointed with the result and ourselves.”

Kitshoff continued: “But looking at the review and seeing the opportunities that we did create, that has lifted us. There was an incredible vibe at training today and, I felt the meetings went really well.

“The training itself went really well and I think the guys are in a good headspace even though we lost I feel like the guys are already up for another big Test match this weekend.”