‘No hand on the trophy yet,’ says Boks’ Daan Human

Springbok scrum guru Daan Human said that the team was fully focused on getting the win needed over Argentina to clinch the Rugby Championship this weekend in Mbombela, and that no one in the Bok set-up believed that they already had a hand on the trophy.

The Boks are on 19 points, with Argentina five back on 14, and for them not to win the competition the visitors would have to make sure that the Boks don’t get a losing bonus point, score three tries more than the hosts and reel in their points difference.

So it is highly unlikely that the Boks won’t secure the title this weekend, however Human cautioned underestimating Los Pumas, especially after what they have achieved in this year’s tournament so far.

“I think there is a great vibe in the team (despite the past weekend’s loss). I wouldn’t say we have one hand on the trophy yet, we will only get a hand on it if we are able to beat them (on Saturday),” explained Human.

“We (the Boks) know it is going to be very tough and we are all desperate, like they are. This is the first time since they joined the Rugby Championship that they have managed to beat all three other teams (Springboks, All Blacks and Wallabies).

“So I think they are in a great place at the moment. We are 100% aware of what (challenge) is awaiting us and what we need to put in place to get a good result against them.”

Plenty of learnings

Looking back at the tight 29-28 loss over the past weekend, Human admitted that the team was disappointed, but that there were plenty of learnings to take out of the match, especially for the younger players who were on their first trip to South America.

“We are obviously very disappointed. We knew it was going to be tough playing them there. There are a couple of guys who were playing there (in Argentina) for the first time,” said Human.

“So they didn’t know the stadium pressure. For them it was a good experience and hopefully they can take learnings from it going forward. We (now) know there are a lot of areas that we can improve on.”

Back on home soil

The Boks are now happy to be back on home soil and with the deciding match to be played in front of a sold-out crowd in Mbombela, they will be confident of securing the championship in front of a passionate home crowd.

“It’s special to be (back) here (in SA and Mbombela) and hopefully we can deliver a good performance for the public,” said Human.

“We know the whole country is behind us, and we owe it to them, the supporters that will attend the game on the weekend, and ourselves to bounce back strongly. So, hopefully we can deliver a good performance that can earn us a win and see us win the Rugby Championship.”