‘Boks not relying on bench to win’ — Mzwandile Stick

Springbok assistance coach Mzwandile Stick says that the Boks won’t be waiting for the final minutes of the game to make an impact with their bench, when they take on Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday (6:10pm).

Bok coach Rassie Erasmus surprised many when he named a team of largely back-up players, while naming a host of frontline starters, such as captain Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jasper Wiese and Vincent Koch on the bench, as part of a 7-1 ‘nuclear squad’.

But Stick explained that they were backing the starting guys to get off to a strong start and maintain that momentum throughout the game, so that they won’t be chasing the game in the final moments.

Tough game

“It is going to be a tough game. It is always tough against them at Murrayfield. But the focus for us is not only on the last 10 or 20 minutes of the game. We want to start well, we want to make sure that we implement our plan and make sure that we execute it,” said Stick.

“We know Scotland have their own plans and we know how they play. They will want to keep the ball in hand and speed up things. So we aren’t coming into the game with a plan of only making a difference in the game in the last 10 minutes. If we can set up the win from the start that will be great.

“I think that the team that starts well will have a good chance of keeping that momentum. We don’t want to wait for the last quarter of the game to do that. If we go in with a mindset of not pitching up against them we will be punished.

“They have world class players with x-factor, like (captain Sione) Tuipulotu and Duhan (van der Merwe). So if we switch off they will punish us. They also have a coaching staff that is very creative with their plans. If you aren’t mentally up for it you will come off second best.”

Game plan

Stick was asked whether the Boks had multiple game plans in place in case of poor weather conditions, but admitted that they didn’t as they had prepared thoroughly for whatever conditions they get.

“From the information we’ve received it’s going to be a dry day, but we had that week in Jersey where we were able to prepare and acclimatise to the conditions. Our first training session was very wet and cold,” said Stick.

“I don’t think the weather conditions will change the way we want to play. We are well prepared. But we know on the other side Scotland will do everything they can to stop us from implementing our plans, so hopefully we can stick to them on the day.”