Boks face delicate balancing act in final Rugby Champs outing — Deon Davids | The Citizen

The Springboks are fired up and driven to put in a much improved performance when they take on Argentina in their final game of the Rugby Championship at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The Boks have had mixed results over the truncated competition so far, having claimed a thumping 43-12 win over the Wallabies at Loftus, before going down 35-20 against the All Blacks in Auckland earlier this month.

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They will thus be targeting a performance much closer to what they delivered against the Australians as they aim to finish the competition with a bang.

“We have had a thorough look in terms of our performance (against the All Blacks) and we have had an honest conversation about it across the various departments,” explained assistant coach Deon Davids at a Bok press conference on Monday afternoon.

“I think as individuals, coaches and as a team we acknowledge that we should have been better and that will be our drive going into this game and building into the rest of the year.”

Final chance

Although the Boks will want to get the best possible result against Los Pumas, they have to balance that with giving certain players important game time while also offering a final chance for players to stake a claim for a spot in the team’s World Cup squad.

Following this weekend’s match the Boks play Los Pumas in Argentina next weekend, before naming their squad of 33 that will go on to take part in the showpiece event in France in September and October.

“Our main aim is to put a team on the field this week that can give us a positive result and every time we select a team we try to pick one that can give us the best rewards,” explained Davids.

“But obviously we are still building various combinations and getting players match fit going into the World Cup. That is part of our strategy in the background as we prepare for this game, playing Argentina next week and going into those two friendlies against Wales and New Zealand.

“So everyone knows that they have to put their hands up, improve their performance and take their chance if they get it. If there is someone that still wants to knock the door down if they get an opportunity we will look at that.”

Balancing act

Davids admits that it is a tight balancing act trying to get players match fit, giving others an opportunity and trying to put out the best possible team on the day that can get the result that the coaching team is looking for.

“With all those different variables in mind we try to find the balance in ensuring that everyone has an opportunity, that the team performs and that with those opportunities we build towards getting the mix together when we hit the World Cup,” said Davids.

The Boks have the luxury of picking from a fully fit squad, bar the long term injuries to captain Siya Kolisi and flyhalf Handre Pollard, who they hope will be fit enough to take part in the final two friendlies against Wales and New Zealand next month.