Computers say one thing, but real statistics will be revealed on the battlefield

EASTBOURNE: The computers are telling the Springbok coaching staff that their players comprise arguably the fittest South African rugby team ever but as always, the battlefield will tell the real story.

“We have worked unbeliev- ably hard on an area that we thought needed improving (compared to the All Blacks) and all the testing shows the conditioning levels having increased dramatically,” assistant coach John McFarland said yesterday. “We started seeing the results in the Rugby Championship (despite nega- tive results) but in the last five weeks of outright conditioning (with no games) we have seen really big improvements.”

McFarland, a defence expert once with the Bulls under Heyneke Meyer and now with the Boks over the last four years, says a good indication of fitness levels is the speed with which players recover from a first tackle to get into the correct position to make a second, and then a third, and so on, with the obvious inference being that the fitter you are, the harder it is for the opposition to score. It is why the All Blacks concede so few tries.

“The ability to make ‘sec- ond efforts’ on defence is all about conditioning,” McFarland said. “If you are in good shape, you get up quicker, get back in position quicker and are more confident to make the tackle. We were markedly better in that area in the second game against the Pumas, and have had a substantial period of conditioning since then.”

That fitness will have an examination of sorts against the Japanese, who traditionally play a fast-paced running game to negate their physical inferiority at forward. “That has been true over the decades but it has changed a bit in recent years,” McFarland said.

“I know, I have picked apart their last 20 games, and they have won seven of their last 10. They are getting bigger at forward and have a number of Super Rugby players (that have been naturalised) and make a difference, plus their coach, Eddie Jones, is one of the best in the busines.”