Springboks need to be ruthless despite having series sewn up

A lot of the good work done by the Springboks in clinching the England series will be tarnished if they don’t finish with a 3-0 whitewash at Newlands on Saturday.

Flank Pieter-Steph du Toit believes the general public will only remember a team’s last game and that’s why they have to go out and keep the momentum gained from the previous two wins.

“It’s a fine line. We must be careful not to get too happy too soon as we South Africans often tend to do.

“Walking in the mall, you realise people have already forgotten about the series win and just want us to win again.”

Du Toit, who has 34 caps to his name, has lately been used as blindside flank, where his work rate and storming runs as a ball-carrier has made him a Bok stalwart.

“I’m playing both lock and flank at the moment and I’m enjoying it quite a lot. The coaches allow me to do what I do best on the field, within the boundaries of the system naturally,” he said.

The 25-year-old said “it’s nice” to get a bit more exposure on the flank, having always dreamed of playing flank for the national side as a youngster.

“And luckily I got the opportunity. In our system, Nos 4, 5 and 7 work closely together, so it’s not that much of a difference. We’re allowed enough time in terms of preparation to settle into those respective roles.”