Deans: Boks will get better

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans believes that his side capitalised, in the second half of the Tri-Nations Test in Durban, on the Springboks lack of game time.

A Bok team that was far closer to being at full strength in Durban, after fielding a second string side in the away leg of the competition, dominated the first half of the match against Australia.

Deans revealed that his side had done well to limit their damage in the first half with a plan to attack the Boks late in the game when their lack of match practice could leave the defence looking vulnerable.

“We could have been more down [at half time] but we could have also been more up,” Deans told this website.

“We breached on a couple of occasions and got a bit lateral in our support so they were able to attack the ball hard and turn the ball over which released the pressure.

“We talked about adjusting our support lines and maintaining ball –not being in a hurry. We were aware that a lot of these blokes in the Springbok side hadn’t played for a while so we were hopeful of being able to exhaust them and then profit.”

Deans expects the Boks to give the All Blacks a tough run for their money in Port Elizabeth now that several experienced players have brushed aside the cobwebs.

“I think they will be better for their outing this week, it probably prepared them well for next week [against New Zealand],” he said.

“They are very much a pressure oriented team, we saw signs of that tonight but our blokes held up pretty well. Our kick-receive work was pretty good but they [Springboks] will get better.

“The closer they get to that event (World Cup) they will get better – they know how to win it.”