Boks unleash heavy artillery as they look to defend Rugby Championship
Springbok defence coach Jerry Flannery believes this year's Rugby Championship will be wide open and the most competitive for years.
Flannery, who played 45 times at hooker for Ireland in the Six Nations, reckons the Rugby Championship is 'a phenomenal competition.'
'If you look back at last year, Argentina were the dark horses. They came out of nowhere and shocked New Zealand, and beat us as well,' Flannery said in backing up Rassie Erasmus's contention that the Boks will have to be at their best if they are to defend their title.
Since 1996, the Boks have never won consecutive Championship titles.
'There are no weak teams in the Championship. That is it!' the 46-year-old said. 'Looking at last year objectively, Joe Schmidt had only just taken over the Wallabies after the World Cup, where they had looked rudderless.
'So the Wallabies started slowly, and we benefited from that because we played them early in the tournament (and beat them twice in Australia).
'That is not the case with the Wallabies now, but we want to play the best teams when they are at their best,' Flannery said ahead of Saturday's Test against the Wallabies at Ellis Park. 'With all due respect to Georgia and the Barbarians, we want to be playing the best teams in the world because that is how you get better.'
Flannery said that while he was pleased that the Boks conceded just 40 points in their first four games of the year (they also played Italy twice), the bigger picture is how the team performs in general.
'I'm proud whenever we win, never mind how the defence went,' he said. 'All the coaches contribute across all areas. Rassie (Erasmus) will jump in (with the defence), Tony Brown leans in now and again, Felix Jones, Duane Vermeulen and (Mzwandile ) Stick, all have a say.
'That is how we operate. If you operate in isolation where the defence coach only cares about defence, you are putting all your eggs in one basket, and then you start missing tricks because you are not progressing together.'
Flannery said that the four-match warm-up block provided a useful foundation for the Rugby Championship.
'None of us were pleased with how we performed in the first Test against Italy. We conceded a maul try in that game and also against Georgia. That is something teams pick up and go after. So we have invested a lot of time into our maul defence. There is always something to work on.
'Overall, we started well against the Baabaas, were poor against Italy, then good in the second Test against Italy, and a little bit in between against Georgia.
'We have tried in training to replicate the intensity at which Australia have been playing.
'The thing that pleased me the most over the four games was to see how many players got game time. It was great to see how hard they trained and how excited they were to get opportunities.
'For example, you get a young lad like Ethan Hooker competing against Jesse Kriel, and he is fighting, doing his best, and holding his own. Those are the things that make me confident about the team's future.'
Springbok team to face Australia in Johannesburg: 15 Aphelele Fassi,14 Edwill van der Merwe,13 Jesse Kriel,12 Andre Esterhuizen,11 Kurt-Lee Arendse,10 Manie Libbok,9 Grant Williams, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain),7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Canan Moodie, 23 Damian Willemse.
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Daily Maverick
an hour ago
- Daily Maverick
Gutsy Wallabies stun Boks with sensational comeback, ending 62-year Ellis Park drought
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Referee Ben O'Keeffe was hard on the Boks at the breakdown as the world champions conceded 10 penalties, while Australia somehow only infringed four times. At least two of Australia's six tries were scored after clear forward passes that went unpunished, but the reality was the visitors were the better team. The Boks mentally fell apart, the longer the Wallabies stayed in the game. Australia mined deep wells of reserve to stay composed after a ferocious Springbok onslaught in the opening quarter, which should have settled the matter. The Boks had chances to kill the game off when they led comfortably, but three times they failed to convert when on Australia's tryline either side of halftime. With each little positive outcome, the Wallabies grew in confidence while the Boks wilted. The Wallabies 'won' the second quarter 5-0 and from there their confidence grew. Erasmus will have some serious thinking to do because the drop-off in performance was alarming. 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The South African
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The Citizen
4 hours ago
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Springbok player ratings from 38-22 defeat to Australia at Ellis Park
Some of the Bok players performed well individually, but as a team they were well beaten on Saturday. The Springboks suffered a shock 38-22 defeat to the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship opener at Ellis Park on Saturday. After scoring three early tries and being 22-0 up after 20 minutes, the reigning champions conceded six tries and 38 unanswered points to go down to the Wallabies at the stadium for the first time since 1963. Here is how The Citizen rated the performance of the Bok players, out of 10. Aphelele Fassi 5: He tried hard on attack, without making much ground, while his kicking out of hand was poor. Didn't get too many opportunities to show his true potential. Edwill van der Merwe 7: He was excellent in defence, chasing back on two occasions to nullify dangerous situation. Looked dangerous with ball in hand. Jesse Kriel 6: He made one excellent line break which led to a try by the Boks, made a few tackles and missed a few as well – one resulting in an Aussie try. André Esterhuizen 8: He was excellent in defence, making good reads and tackled hard, while he also carried well over the gainline, with one good break, scored a first Test try. Kurt-Lee Arendse 7: He scored a try, was excellent in the air contesting for ball and made a few good defensive plays, one of which prevented a potential try. Manie Libbok 6: His distribution was good, he made one quality line break, while his kicking, to goal and out of hand, was decent. He made a poor pass which resulted in an Aussie try. Grant Williams 7: His service was good, he looked dangerous with ball in hand without ever really threatening, while his kicking game was top notch. The dejected Springbok players at the end of the match against Australia at Ellis Park on Saturday. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images Siya Kolisi 7: He carried strongly on a number of occasions and cleaned rucks, while he also did well to pick up and score a try. Left the action after 45 minutes. Pieter-Steph du Toit 8: He played a role in Andre Esterhuizen's try with a good offload, he stole a lineout ball with Aussies on attack and made several big carries and tackles. Marco van Staden 7: He made a number of big carries early on to get the Boks on the front foot and he tackled hard, but faded as the game went on. Lood de Jager 7: He carried strongly in the early stages, and made a number of tackles, especially in dangerous situations. Eben Etzebeth 8: One of his best Tests in some time. He was all over the place; he carried well and tackled superbly, and was a menace in the lineouts and jumping for high kicks. Wilco Louw 6: He scrummed well on the few occasions he had to, but otherwise enjoyed a quiet game. Needs to get more involved in general play. Malcolm Marx 6: He missed his lineout target on three occasions, but won a breakdown penalty and was busy in the tight-loose, often collecting loose ball and carrying. Ox Nche 6: He scrummed well when he had to, and carried on one occasion and made a few tackles. Bench 4: Not the best outing for the 'bomb squad'. Kwagga Smith was the busiest of them all, while Canan Moodie missed a tackle which led to a try and Damian Willemse was stepped for a try. Bongi Mbonambi missed a lineout, while Boan Venter, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, and Franco Mostert were back-pedalling. Cobus Reinach made a late appearance.
