Boks should halt French 'game-breakers'
NOVEMBER TEST BUILD-UP: South Africa’s defence has to be of high quality if they want to halt the French ‘game-breakers’ says desperate Springboks captain Siya Kolisi.
The Springboks are in dire need of a win following their 30-32 defeat to New Zealand in Pretoria on October 6 and the 11-12 loss by England last Saturday.
The defeat to Eddie Jones’ side last weekend came in the opening match of their November Test series.
The Boks could have sealed a win, however, their inability to take several opportunities and a lack of discipline cost them victory over England.
“We don’t want to dwell in the past, but we feel that we lost the game last week [against England at Twickenham] because of our lack of execution,” Kolise explained, adding: “We feel like we lost it to ourselves, and this week it’s about making sure we play with the same intensity and purpose, but obviously with better finishing,”
“We want to get our tour back on track. We are desperate.
“It’s tough to lose by one point but we’re heading in the right direction,” he added.
The Boks have a good record against France. They have won their last six matches over their Northern Hempishere opposition, however, captain Kolisi is not underestimating the hosts.
And stated that the Boks should be wary of the French ‘game-breakers’.
“I’ve played a couple of time against the French and every game against them have been really tough,” the flank said.
“They now have a new team and will be fresh, plus they’re welcoming back a few players who’ve returned from injuries. So we are looking forward to another strong challenge, especially from their big physical pack of forwards,” explained the Bok skipper.
“They scrum and maul very well and we will have to make sure that our set pieces are very good. And they also have some good game-breakers who can create something out nothing, so our defence must be good,”
The Springboks will play in their alternative white kit on Saturday evening against France in Paris.#boksontour#CastleLagerOutgoingTour#FRAvRSA pic.twitter.com/ihcPTtI7qz
— South African Rugby (@Springboks) November 9, 2018
The skipper also explained that his side’s line-outs woes are a thing of a past, even in the absence of star lock Eben Etzebeth.
“I think last week we lost just four line-outs and it’s going to tough without Eben Etzebeteh, but we have Pieter-Steph du Toit and Franco Mostert is back in the team so this week we will be much better in that area,”
“I think, we have prepared as hard as we can and as well as we can,”
