Stick outlines what SA ‘A’ want to get out of match against Lions

Wednesday night’s SA A game against the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town is another step in the Springboks’ preparation for the Test series, according to backline coach Mzwandile Stick, and the important lesson they will want to carry from the Georgia Test two weekends ago is that they have to start well.

It took the Springboks a good half-hour before they got into the swing of their Test against Georgia, which was understandable since it was their first Test in 20 months. Georgia’s physical, combative approach troubled South Africa in the first quarter, but they know a slow start against the British and Irish Lions will lead to way more severe punishment.

“For us, this is an SA A game, but in terms of the Springboks it is about making sure we are better than we were against Georgia, that’s our main focus,” Stick said on Tuesday.

“For example, one of the things is that we did not start very well. It’s most important that we keep chasing that 80-minute performance. We certainly can’t afford to switch off against the Lions.

“Against them we have to make sure we are at our best from the start and for all 80 minutes. It’s difficult to find weaknesses in the Lions, there’s not much to speak about because they have the best in Europe in each position. So we have to be at our best in every department otherwise the Lions are a team that will punish you.”

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But with the country in a miserable state due to Covid and civil unrest, Stick admitted that the Springboks will once again have a higher purpose – trying to lift the mood of the people as they did when they held the World Cup aloft in 2019.

“We are living in a very sad time with what we see on social media and on the news on TV,” Stick said.

“One of the main things the Springboks aim to do is put smiles on peoples’ faces, we want to give them hope. I will never forget after we won the World Cup everyone was on the street – whatever colour: black, brown, white, yellow – and we all spoke one language.

“That’s the sort of hope we want to create, we want to make sure we unite the country. Hopefully all the bad stuff going on at the moment stops soon,” Stick said.