- Springbok coach
Jacques Nienaber remained stoic despite a landmark success, saying they were
still a work in progress. - The Springboks
rocked up physically to dismember the All Blacks 26-10 at the Mbombela Stadium,
recording their first home win in eight years against them. - Springbok
captain Siya Kolisi was also impressed with how they retained their defensive
discipline throughout the game.
Springbok coach
Jacques Nienaber remained stoically focused on wanting to get better for next
week’s second Test against the All Blacks despite their comprehensive hoodoo-destroying 26-10 win at the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.
The Boks looked
like they did everything right, despite losing the first try scorer Kurt-Lee
Arendse in the 75th-minute to a red card.
Nienaber was
chuffed with the win that allowed the Springboks to enjoy their first home
success against the All Blacks in eight years, but added the areas of
improvement they need to look after to complete an unprecedented clean sweep.
“I don’t
think we’re a finished product yet. We did a good assessment after the Wales
series and I think we’ve improved,” Nienaber said.
“We built
on the stuff that that we felt needed to be improved on from the Wales series,
but we’re not a finished product yet.
“We’ve
always wanted to win every single game, but for us, it’s also about improving
on the goals that we’ve set out for ourselves.”
Nienaber, who
celebrated his second All Black win as Bok coach and his third overall as
part of the Bok managed group since 2018, said their tailor-made plans came
off.
“We spoke
about pitching up with intensity during the week and trying to be accurate with
what we’ve planned,” he said.
“I thought
we did that well. We had good intensity and I thought we executed our plans
very well.”
Springbok
captain Siya Kolisi zeroed in on the more technical aspects, saying their
accurate kicking game and aggressive defence prevented the All Blacks from
expressing themselves.
He too
cautioned on how they need to be better for next week at Ellis Park, but was
happy with how they never lost their defensive discipline.
“The
biggest thing was to make sure we got to the contestable kicks and because they
have so many game-breakers, it was important that we remained disciplined
enough to close down their opportunities,” Kolisi said.
“They had
one early in the second half, but I was impressed with how the guys snuffed
that one out and how we played with 14 men.
“They’re a
dangerous team from anywhere on the field, but I thought we had good discipline
and we stuck to what we wanted to do.”
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