Boks are tackling their defensive issues
CONSECUTIVE losses to the Wallabies this past fortnight has exposed some truly surprising cracks in the armour of the Springboks.
As was the case in the first loss two weeks ago, this past weekend’s 30-17 defeat betrayed a Bok defence that has left the coaches, supporters and pundits dumbfounded as to its unanticipated implosion as the Wallabies crossed their tryline four times. During the British & Irish Lions tour, the defensive efforts of the Boks was rock-solid, conceding only two tries in that three-match Test series.
Indeed, one must travel back to October 2018, when the Boks played against the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship, to pin-point the last time the South Africans conceded four tries in a match – that time in a 32-30 loss. In the last two matches, the Boks have also missed a staggering 40 tackles.
This weekend the Boks play the selfsame opposition as the 2018 encounter in the 100th Test between the two nations, and if Jacques Nienamber – who is also the defence coach in the national setup – and his charges are to engineer a turnaround in fortunes, then they will have to find a solution to their current tackling woes.
At times the Boks were completely eviscerated by the Wallabies, and it got noticeably worse as the match
progressed. Yesterday, forwards coach Deon Davids approached the topic as tactfully as possible, but there is no doubt there will be a major focus on getting the defence back to where it needs to be this week.
“You have got to look objectively in terms of where the tackles were made, when they were made, and why it happened,” said Davids, regarding how the Bok management would fix the problem. “Obviously, we always look if it is a system error, or assess if it is a technical error, or whether it is happens due to losing a player to a yellow card. That puts pressure on our system ... At this point in time, we will be looking indepth to find an understanding of what we can do better.
“We also understand the test the All Blacks will bring and it is important for us to insure that we are on par and put up a better performance according to our standards.”
Davids revealed that although the coaches are the guiding hand of reason, for the process to work, then it would be up to the players to affect the change. Not that this is a concern for the squad.
Said Davids: “We have a very transparent process in the camp and a big aspect of the team is accepting responsibility.
“For these players, at this level, they are well aware of what they do right and what they do wrong. With that mentality comes a lot of trust, regardless of what happens on the field, the players will accept responsibility and work to fix it. With such an approach, we believe that a player can acknowledge what must be corrected and then be able to concentrate on the task at hand.”
As if predicting Davids’ response, Bongi Mbonambi echoed that sentiment earlier in the press briefing.
“We’ve gone through the game and we’ve all sat in the meeting and we have all recognized our mistakes,” said the Bok hooker.
“There is always room for improvement and every player here is professional enough to know where the errors were made. It’s a new week for us, it’s a new challenge. The mistakes we made are very fixable, and we will be working on them this week.”
Meanwhile, Davids also revealed that Cheslin Kolbe remained in doubt for Saturday’s clash against the All Blacks (kick-off 9am), while lock Lood de Jager could possible make a return. The team announcement will be made today.