Deon Davids concedes Lions out-smarted Boks in set-pieces

On the night of the first Test against the British and Irish Lions, there was already an acknowledgement from the Springboks that the tourists’ brilliant kicking game had been the key factor in their 17-22 defeat, but on Monday the lack of dominance up front in the second half by the pack, which teed up the Lions kickers, was addressed by forwards coach Deon Davids.

“You’ve got to have a solid base in the lineouts and scrums, your forwards need to put you on the front foot, in order for you to play to your plan. If one thing goes wrong, that will influence the kick, it has a ripple effect,” Davids said on Monday.

“It’s so important that your set-pieces give you a solid base and the Lions were streetwise in what they did; we will have to handle that better.

“It’s one thing to win the ball in the lineout, but it’s also important to have quality possession and be able to set the platform to kick.

“Not all our roles were totally fulfilled and there was not always proper support after we had won the ball. We let ourselves down in the second half and some individual standards need to be raised, although everyone definitely tried very hard.”

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Apart from the obvious slackening off in intensity in the second half, which is partly a conditioning issue that might not be able to be fixed in one week, Davids acknowledged that the Lions had also played much smarter rugby than the Springboks.

Not giving the home team many lineouts was one such clever strategy, which prevented the Boks from launching from their fearsome rolling maul.

“I’m not sure, but only having four lineouts might be a world record for a Test match,” Davids said. “The Lions were very smart and they did not give us lineouts, instead we were fielding high balls all the time and that put us under pressure.

“But we also have to ensure that our kicking game is exceptionally accurate to ensure you get the advantage of territory. We can be better in execution and be smarter.

“In terms of our exit plays, you also need to ensure a solid platform there so you get good delivery of the ball. That can also improve because we did not have a lot of attacking options.

“We want to play from set-pieces in the opposition half, but if you don’t get those opportunities then you are just left with unstructured attack off turnovers. We need to get into better places on the field.”