Meyer looks to Matfield to sort set-piece woes

Springboks great Victor Matfield says the team’s unexpected scrum problems are fixable and vows to have them sorted out for the looming clashes against the Wallabies and All Blacks.

The Boks have arrived in Perth for Saturday’s showdown against the Wallabies with their monstrous pack clearly still smarting after being shunted around by Argentina in two narrow South African wins in Pretoria and Salta to open their Rugby Championship campaign.

The Boks pride themselves on their set-piece work but they were outplayed by the big Pumas forwards, resulting in the South African media piling pressure on the team for their Australasian tour that will define their title hopes.

The Boks play the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday week.

Veteran lock Matfield missed both tests against the Pumas through injury but is back in the squad for this crucial road trip.

Coach Heyneke Meyer has looked for Matfield’s expertise to provide some precision as the team got stuck into their scrum work at three sessions before leaving South Africa.

That work will surely continue this week in Perth.

‘‘The set-piece is very important for us. We had a look at it and there is only one way to fix something and that is to do it on the training field,’’ Matfield told media.

‘‘The guys that were there were outstanding the whole of last year, so we know what they can do. It is just maybe just getting one or two technical things right.’’

Having snuck past Argentina 33-31 with a late penalty, the Boks are demanding more.

‘‘The team will be the first to say that we are not happy with the way that we played in Salta. We definitely want to go out there and perform better,’’ Matfield said.

‘‘We need to focus on Australia and what are our strengths. We need to go out there and almost control the pace, like we want it, when we want it.

‘‘The one thing people shouldn’t forget is that Australia drew against the All Blacks two weeks ago on home turf.

‘‘It is going to be a very competitive and tough game and with the Waratahs winning the Super Rugby they should be confident of where they stand. It is a game where little decisions make a big difference and we need to get the basics right. Our set-piece must work.’’