BOKS KICK OFF NEW CHAPTER
Win against France signals change in fortune for team
SPRINGBOK coach Allister Coetzee is not a meteorologist but knows very well one spell of heavy rain is not enough to end a drought. Saturday’s 37-14 win against France at Loftus Versfeld was Coetzee’s first since the 18-10 win against Australia at the same ground.
It kept the Boks’ 11-year streak in Pretoria intact, even though they haven’t played New Zealand there since 2006.
With the nightmare of last year’s four wins from 12 matches not forgotten by South African fans, Coetzee appealed for last year to be banished to the forgotten pages of history, but knows one defeat could set the cat among the pigeons.
“We’ve closed the chapter on 2016. We’ve really closed it now with a young and inexperienced side.
“I’ve selected the best side I can for this series and I’m really pleased with the performance.
“It’s about the performance and not the win because when the team plays like it did, it is a step in the right direction.
“We’re not a team playing not to lose, but we’re a team with the belief in the ability of playing the game in different ways. It’s baby steps in the right direction,” Coetzee said.
“It’s not perfect, but nothing about this game is perfect.
“There’s a team environment that has taken shape and the example was the last five minutes we spent in our own half after the game was won, and not conceding a try.
“That is starting to take shape, and the fact that bodies were put on the line was pleasing. The French played without a lot of their stars and they put us under pressure with ball in hand at stages.”
Like any test match, there was a turning point, with Brice Dulin’s 60th-minute yellow for an early tackle on debutant Courtnall Skosan in the act of trying to dot the ball down, gifting the Springboks a penalty try.
The Boks scored two more through another debutant, Ross Cronje, and Jan Serfontein in Dulin’s absence to give the Boks a clean break and a deserved win.
Another thing Coetzee was criticised for was his malice in using the Lions players, and all seven came through for him.
Malcolm Marx was imposing and excellent even though he could do with polishing his lineout work, while Franco Mostert was steady.
Halfback pairing Cronje and Elton Jantjies simply continued from where they left off in Super Rugby with the latter finally looking the part in Springbok jersey.
Captain Warren Whiteley put in a reasonable shift, while Skosan and Andries Coetzee did not disappoint.
Raymond Rhule had a busy defensive night marking Virimi Vakatawa, but distinguished himself very well.
“In every match, there will be crucial moments. The try that we conceded when we were leading 16-7 was a crucial one.
“It was a result of unpredictable play, but also the awareness of players who wanted to score tries was good. “If you want to win matches, you have to score tries.
“The impact of the bench and the debutants was unbelievable and it was tough to select this team because players were looking to get into the team and you could see from the impact. The debutants, those ones I’m proud of.”