The big positive for Boks heading into All Black Tests
SPOTLIGHT: Building depth in key positions is the big goal for the Springboks this season and they are currently on the right track.
That was the view of assistant coach Mzwandile Stick after the Boks completed the first leg of their Rugby Championship campaign with two bonus-point wins over the Wallabies in Australia.
The Springboks are currently preparing to face old foes the All Blacks in Johannesburg (August 31) and Cape Town (September 7) and Rassie Erasmus’ squad is brimming with selection options ahead of these fixtures.
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“The one thing I enjoyed [from the tour] was the young guys that came through and their excitement when they received opportunities to play,” said Stick.
“If you look at a young guy like Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] and Aphelele Fassi and the way they are maturing in those positions, it’s great for the team.
“Of course, they’ll make mistakes now and then, but as long as one learns from those mistakes it makes you a better player.
“A couple of the players grabbed their opportunities with both hands and that’s great for us as coaches to build our squad depth and to create more competition in the different positions.
“It’s going to be a different challenge playing against the All Blacks, but these are the moments we live for, and we’ll make sure we prepare well.”
Stick is expecting a completely different challenge against the All Blacks from what they faced against the Wallabies.
“If you had asked us at the beginning of the season if we thought it was possible to get 10 points against Australia at home, we would have probably said you are joking because it’s always tough against them Down Under,” said Stick.
“But we’ll take those results. It was very positive for us as a team, but we are now facing a different challenge.
“The All Blacks have been one of the best teams for a while now and it showed in how they bounced back against Argentina after losing their first game.
“On a good day they can be very dangerous, so the keys for us are to prepare well, ensure that we are aligned as a team, and to execute our game plan well because if you are not at your best on the day against the All Blacks they can punish you.”
Stick said the team was in a good state mentally and physically after their tour and he was confident that the extra days of training before the All Black Test would set them in good stead similar to the extra time they spent in Australia to acclimatise to the time zone and conditions.
“As a team, we are in a good space at the moment,” said Stick. “We had two or three days off with our families and we are now back in camp.
“This means we have two extra days to work with the players which will allow us to implement a few things.
“It’s similar to what we did before the Australian leg, and it helped a lot. One can see the guys are fresh and the energy in the group is great.”
