We believe in our blueprint, says coach
THE Springboks are not going to make wholesale changes to the gameplan when they take on Samoa in a must-win Rugby World Cup match this weekend, writes Craig Ray.
That is the word from assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher with the Boks still reeling after their shock 34-32 loss to Japan.
They might make some personnel changes but tactically they had a blueprint and were determined to stick to it despite five losses in their past six Test matches.
All that was needed were a few “minor tweaks” here and there.
The only Test the Boks have won in the past 10 months was when they reverted to a more tactical game in Buenos Aires against Argentina. They played field position and were clinical.
Last Saturday, they played far too much rugby against a side that thrived on the ball being in play. So either the players did not stick to the gameplan, or the wrong gameplan was employed.
The Boks will have to go back to the pragmatism of Buenos Aires and forget about the loose style they adopted against Japan.
They carried the ball 138 times, made seven line breaks, 171 passes and 21 offloads. But the Boks are generally better when they have less ball.
In Buenos Aires, they only carried 104 times, made 127 passes and nine offloads. Every game has its own rhythm, of course, but with the Boks less is more.
“We back the plan, back the coaches and the players, and we are confident any one of the 31 can step in to do the job.
“We will look at the strengths and weaknesses Samoa have and prepare accordingly. There will be a few small adjustments but in general, the plan stays the same.
“We believe in our blueprint and game plan,” Loubscher said. “We are creating a lot of opportunities, and we have all season.
“It’s always easy to look back and identify missed opportunities and talk about them. But under pressure we need to finish them.
“Our discipline let us down at times against Japan and we had a few soft moments, but hopefully those are aspects we can rectify.”
Flyhalf Pat Lambie, who might be one of the players to pay the price for last weekend’s humbling experience, was confident the Boks could turn it around.
“We don’t have a choice now, we have to win, and in my experience when the Springboks have their backs to the wall, it brings out the best in us.” But the players needed to maintain discipline against a Samoan side who will have their tails up. “Hopefully there won’t be too much foul play, offthe-ball incidents and yellow cards from our perspective.”