Springboks set to put in extra work

THE Springboks will dedicate an extra 20 minutes to improving their defence and kicking skills at every training session from now on.

According to Springbok coach Allister Coetzee, defence and kicking execution are the two areas his team need to improve the most, and immediately, if they’re to show an improvement in performance on next month’s tour of Europe.

The Boks open their trip with a match against the Barbarians at Wembley on November 5 and that’s followed by three Tests, against England, Italy and Wales.

“We have agreed that from now on the coaches responsible for those areas will invest 20 minutes extra at training to get it right,” said Coetzee yesterday after the touring squad got together in Joburg.

“These will be aerial skills sessions, individual sessions for (kicking) execution, and they’ll come after the normal sessions.”

Coetzee, though, made it clear the players would also be asked to step up like never before. “This is not just about the respective coaches and the plan we have in place; getting a good skills’ set is also the player’s responsibility, he must want to get better and improve.

“The players have to put in the hard work as well, and hopefully we’ll see a difference in the next four weeks, but if it’s not a significant difference then there will be a change in Super Rugby next year, because the skills these guys will learn now is not just for now; they will continue with it in Super Rugby as well.”

The two additional coaches who have joined the Boks for the European tour, JP Ferreira (defence) and Franco Smith (backs play and skills), will be largely responsible for the areas spoken about by Coetzee and which need immediate attention.

“Right now we must focus on our defence; it wasn’t good in the Championship and it’s something that’s just not at the level it once was.

“Also, we need to improve our territorial game, and that means getting better at our kicking; our execution and chase has been poor.

“The fact is we had so little territorial advantage recently we were never really a threat on the attack, and that was due to our poor positioning on the field. It’s something we have to fix immediately.”

Coetzee said the Baabaas game next Saturday at Wembley would be massive for a number of reasons. “Firstly, it’ll set the tone for the rest of the tour, so we need to start well and play well. Also it’s an opportunity for me to see how many of the young, exciting players who performed in the Currie Cup put their hands up and force me to select them in future. They’ve shown they’re good enough in the Currie Cup and even in Super Rugby, but this is Test rugby.”

The Boks will train in Joburg this week before leaving for the UK on Friday night.