VIDEO: Red cards won’t soften the Boks’ edge Kolisi promises
DUBLIN, IRELAND: The Springboks won’t abandon their hallmark South African traits of aggression and attacking defence despite the recent red-card controversies against France and Italy.
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi says the events of the past two weeks won’t affect the team’s mindset or their approach to the tackle against Ireland this weekend.
Over the past two weeks, Springboks locks Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert were both shown permanent red cards for dangerous tackles in matches against France and Italy.
De Jager received his marching orders for a high hit on Thomas Ramos, while Mostert was dismissed for a tackle on Paolo Garbisi.
De Jager has since been handed a four-week suspension, and his appeal was dismissed, but an independent disciplinary panel overturned Mostert’s red card.
Speaking after the captain’s run on Friday afternoon, Kolisi said their mentality will stay the same because the team works very hard at the tackle situation, not just at the Springboks, but also at their unions.
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“Nothing has changed. Our mentality is the same.
“We work really hard on level change. It’s who we are. We can’t get away from it,” the captain said.
“And it’s a skill that we portray and we practice.
“The guys [Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager] did the best they could in those situations and we saw it,” he commented.
“We can’t be in a place where we are in two minds. With clarity, you can be aggressive in what you do.
“We work really hard at level change in training, and we do it at our unions before we even get to camps.
“[Coach] Felix [Jones] and everybody send us our tackles and everything.
“So it’s something that we are confident in because we work hard at it.
“That gives us the clarity and the confidence to go out there and be as physical as we can.
“Rugby is a physical sport, so nothing is going to change. We are just going to be who we are.”
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