The Springbok assistant coach, Franco Smith, believes that the Springboks will need very little motivation as the face the Wallabies this week in Bloemfontein in a penultimate round of the Rugby Championship.
The men in green-and-gold are in Bloemfontein this week for their Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies.
It’s the first time since 3 September 2010 that a Test is taking place in the City of Roses, and on that date the Springboks also faced Australia, however, they lost 41-39 thanks to a 71st minute Drew Mitchell try.
The pressure is on the Springboks this time because this match will define the Boks’ season. The Albany Test was the Springboks’ first defeat of the season, after three wins over France during the June series, back-to-back wins over the Pumas of Argentina and a 23-23 draw against Australia in Perth.
Smith said that the team needs very little motivation this week and is desperate to set the record straight.
“We were on a roll with six games without a loss. We were playing some good rugby and the team culture was carrying us. It still hasn’t changed, but suddenly we’re under pressure with high expectations and that, maybe, got to some of the younger players. A third of our team faced the Haka for the first time, so we had a number of guys who have played less than ten Tests.
“Having faced the Haka myself, it is quite intimidating. Often you say it’s not, but that’s the big dream for most young players. You want to face the Haka with all the hype and beat the All Blacks in New Zealand.
“Now we’ve gained that experience and there has been no need to motivate the players. The guys are so determined. We literally had to reign them in at training.
“We all want the win. It was a tough week living in South Africa after that loss, especially being on top of the wave. The guys can’t want to get out there and there is no need for the coaches to inspire.”
Meanwhile the Toyota Cheetahs winger, Raymond Rhule, was released from camp on Tuesday and is available to run out against the Ospreys on Friday evening in the Guinness Pro14. While a Springbok is always a welcome addition to any team, it remains to be seen if the coach, Rory Duncan, will make use of the speedster or stick with Makazole Mapimpi, Rosko Specman and Sergeal Petersen as his back-three.
Saturday’s Test between the Springboks and the Wallabies at the Toyota Stadium kicks off at 17:00. – MORGAN PIEK
*At the time of print approximately 29 000 tickets had been sold for the Test.
