Boks zone in on area of concern ahead of Wales showdown

It is challenging to find any obvious weakness in the Springboks set-up. However assistant coach Deon Davids admitted there are still areas that need to be ironed out ahead of their Nations Championship Round Three clash against Wales.

South Africa have opened their Nations Championship campaign with back-to-back victories over England and Scotland, but despite the convincing scorelines, Davids believes there is still room for improvement.

In both matches, the Springboks seized control early, racing into commanding leads before allowing their opponents back into the contest.

Against England, the Boks stormed to a 17-0 advantage after just 12 minutes before Steve Borthwick’s side gradually fought their way back. Although South Africa dominated possession, England closed to within three points by half-time.

The Springboks regained control after the interval, however, scoring four second-half tries to secure a comfortable 45-21 victory.

A similar pattern emerged a week later against Scotland.

The Boks dominated the opening 20 minutes to establish a 14-0 lead, but Scotland battled back to level the scores by half-time.

South Africa again looked to have put the game beyond doubt when they stretched their advantage to 35-14 by the 67th minute. However, quickfire tries from Josh Bayliss and Ben White – both converted by Finn Russell – reduced the deficit to just seven points with nine minutes remaining.

A late rally eventually saw the Springboks pull away for a 42-28 victory.

Although both displays were not flawless, one should keep in mind that the Boks are trialling and testing new combinations, giving players debuts in an effort to build squad depth.

Davids acknowledged that maintaining control throughout the full 80 minutes has been a major focus.

“For us, when we play the game, it’s always to have control and balance in our execution,” Davids told reporters.

“Obviously, you develop a certain strategy, but on the day, either your opponents outsmart you or your skill level at a certain stage lets you down and doesn’t work out your way.

“Obviously, in each department, we’ve looked at that. We’ve looked at our kicking game, we’ve looked at our line-outs, we’ve looked at our set pieces, we’ve looked at our defence. I think in each one of those, there are things that we can do better and which we want to build on.”

Davids admitted it was frustrating to see the Springboks lose momentum after such dominant starts.

“It’s not ideal to start so well and then lose it a bit in the half. But that is why we have such a good bench, such a good mix of players.

“You understand that there’s experience in the team that, maybe at the start of the game, can help you build more balance and control.

“But as you bring in less experienced guys who are playing under pressure for the first time, you understand that there are different ways things can unfold. There’s always a process in terms of how players adapt and how you adapt to the style of play.

“So, I’m not saying that happened, but those are all the different variables that you need to consider in terms of why it happens.

“So, we try to figure that out and build on it, improving week by week in our training sessions to ensure that we handle those situations better the next time.”

The Springboks will be hoping to produce a more complete 80-minute performance when they take on Wales as they look to extend their unbeaten start to the championship.