Boks want to 'build an innings' against All Blacks
SPOTLIGHT: Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff is hoping the pressure they will apply on the All Blacks on Saturday will be rewarded with points on the scoreboard.
The Boks were hurting after their narrow 17-19 defeat to their old foes last week and they are busy fine-tuning their game plan ahead of Saturday’s Round Six showdown against the same opponents.
Once again it will all start up front for the Boks and Kitshoff said attention to detail was the key for the pack at training this week.
“As a pack of forwards, we are focussing on the execution of our line-outs and mauls, and our other strengths which we would really like to nail down this week,” said Kitshoff.
“There are some fine details we want to sort out so that we can apply pressure and build an innings to have a positive outcome this weekend.”
Kitshoff will be playing off the bench again and he knows how important it is to help lift the team in that final quarter against the All Blacks.
“We’d like to build on a dominant performance we had last weekend. New Zealand will rock up and they’ll fix the mistakes they made in the set pieces, so we know an incredible challenge lies ahead, he explained.
“Malcolm [Marx], Vincent [Koch] and I know how important it is to put in a quality performance late in the match to maintain scrum and set-piece dominance and to work off the platform that the starting front row gives us.
“We know how significant this match is, and we’ll do everything we can to ensure that we pitch up and put on a good display that would make our fans, our country and our teammates proud.”
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Clash of styles
Kitshoff’s teammate Ox Nche knows the All Blacks will look to take them out of their comfort zone on the Gold Coast.
“New Zealand will probably try to increase the tempo of the game and move the ball around,” said Nché.
“We have good set pieces, so they’ll try to put us under pressure there and increase the tempo to get the ball in and out as quickly as possible so that it doesn’t become too much of a contest there.
“They’ll also probably try to keep us away from our DNA which is the physical confrontation in attack, so it should be an interesting match.
“From our perspective though, we are just going to keep doing what we do and play according to our strengths.
“If we can take them on up front, win the little battles, make our tackles and carry well at a good intensity throughout the match, we could put ourselves in a good position to finish the competition on a strong note.”
Additional source: @Springboks
