Coetzee: That was a massive step in the right direction, Bokke!

Springbok coach Allister Coetzee said his team has gone a long way in setting the record straight, after a 2016 that tarnished South African rugby, with their 3-0 series whitewash over France, sealed by a tenacious 35-12 win in the third Test at Ellis Park on Saturday night.

The 23-point winning margin was remarkably similar to the 37-14 win in Pretoria and the 37-15 triumph in Durban, but was arguably even more impressive because the Springboks did not have matters their own way for lengthy periods, as a motivated French side harried them into mistakes and targeted the breakdowns.

Most impressively, given that the visitors enjoyed 56% possession and 66% territory, the Springboks kept France tryless for the first time since 2001, despite having several driving mauls threaten their line.

“That was a massive step in the right direction. There was a common hurt in the team and they had a goal. That was to set the record straight, to show that South Africa do have great players. It was about self-pride, it came from within the players, it was intrinsic.

“Test rugby is always about winning and we knew it would not be pretty tonight and obviously we had some execution problems. But in the 76^th minute when you see three locks in the front of the chase after a kick, that is very pleasing and you know that you are doing something right in the team,” Coetzee said after the win.

While some of the mistakes were certainly due to the pressure exerted by a French side that played as if their pride was at stake, the Springboks were certainly not helped by regular captain Warren Whiteley having to withdraw from the game due to a groin muscle tear.

As well as the Springboks planned for his absence – the eighthman took little part in training this week – it must have still been disruptive given Whiteley’s talismanic effect.

But up stepped Eben Etzebeth, and the fiery Stormers lock was a towering presence as he became South Africa’s 59^th Test captain.

“This is the best day of my life,” Etzebeth said. “The way we have prepared and got close to each other, these have been the best three weeks of being a Springbok for me. You can see off and on the field that we have become a brotherhood. I’m going to go home happy and I’m really looking forward to the Rugby Championship.”

The happiness of the players was undoubtedly expressed in their tremendous defensive effort.

“The defence is not perfect yet, there are still mistakes and there were a couple of missed tackles. But you cannot coach guys getting up on their feet and chasing back to defend, this is down to attitude,” Coetzee said.

What should make the team – and all South African rugby fans – even happier is that Coetzee confirmed that defence consultant Brendan Venter will be remaining with the team.

With the looming return to South African rugby of Rassie Erasmus in a director of rugby role, with defence guru Jacques Nienaber in tow, there has been plenty of speculation that Venter’s job is at risk.

The former Springbok centre is, however, extremely popular with the players and his input goes way beyond merely defensive systems.

“Brendan Venter is staying on as a consultant,” Coetzee said with finality when asked about the future of the management team.

The coach warned that the Rugby Championship will be a stiffer challenge, but he said the team is well-placed to perform strongly in the southern hemisphere’s showpiece tournament after winning just two of their six matches last year.

“It’s going to be much more difficult in the Rugby Championship, but we’ve learnt from last year. I am very pleased with the turnaround, the players have really responded because it has not been easy the last seven months, it was very tough.

“We wanted to make sure the belief was back in the jersey and a lot of small things contribute to that, some things you cannot measure, but they have injected positivity into the psyche,” Coetzee said.

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