Boks 'pushing hard' to bounce back
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer gave his players a few days off to 're-charge' the batteries, before pushing them very hard ahead of the Australasian leg of their Rugby Championship campaign.
Veteran World Cup-winning wing Bryan Habana admitted the team needed both the break and the hard work on the training field ahead of their Round Three clash with the Wallabies in Perth on Saturday.
Following a respectable 27-6 win over Argentina in the opening week, South Africa struggled to a fortuitous 16-all draw with the Pumas in Mendoza a week later.
It raised all kinds of questions about the Boks' prospects ahead of the tough road trip – which will see them take on the Wallabies in this West Australia port city this week and New Zealand in Dunedin a week later.
"It was good to be home [and away from the training field] for a few days … re-focus, re-energise and get back to the task at hand," Habana said from the team's base in Perth.
We were pretty disappointed with how we ended in Mendoza," he said, adding: "Going forward in this competition we would definitely like to improve on the standards we set.
"It was a good game the Argentineans put up to us and we didn't really respond to that challenge.
"Hopefully the rest and the re-focus that we were able to have with those few days at home, before we started putting in some hard work [last] Thursday will pay benefits going forward.
"The standards that we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year is something we prioritised … where we are as a team.
"We were really disappointed at how we executed in that game in Mendoza.
"Getting refocussed and putting hard work in on the field is hopefully what will get us where we want to be.
"We got pushed pretty hard, which was probably needed and hopefully we can build on that."
The wing, South Africa's most prolific try scorer, feel the Boks have been laying good platforms and creating opportunities, but just haven't been capitalising on those.
He hopes they can turn it all around in the next fortnight in Australasia.
"South African normally play well in Perth," he said of a record that has them at three wins and a draw from six starts – with no margin ever being more than seven points.
"However, the [winless] Australians are also in a bit of a pickle and they will come out firing.
"So the challenge that lies ahead for us on Saturday is something we solely focus on."
Habana spoke of the team's poor discipline, when they conceded a number of early penalties and allowed the Pumas to get under their skin, as an area they drastically need to improver on.
"We pride ourselves on discipline and we let ourselves down in that aspect," he said, adding: "At times we played some fantastic rugby, but lost the ball at crucial stages.
"We have looked at ourselves, as players, look at our contribution."
