Video: Haters adding fuel to the Bok fire
SPOTLIGHT: Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi says negative comments surrounding the Springboks’ preparedness for the Test series against the British and Irish Lions is serving as additional motivation for the team.
Since that World Cup Final in November 2019, the Boks have only played one Test and that was against Georgia earlier this month.
However, the Bok management has been able to squeeze in more game time last week – in the guise of South Africa ‘A’ matches against the B&I Lions and the Bulls.
“There has been a lot of people saying we are underdone and the only thing they are doing is throwing more petrol on the fire that is burning,” Mbonambi told reporters during an online media conference.
“We will see what happens on Saturday.
“This team is looking forward to it.”
Mbonambi says the team has been doing extra work behind the scenes to make up for the lack of game time.
“When talking about the international game time, yes, we are at a bit of a disadvantage.
“However, it is one of the realities of Covid.
“We are working hard on the training pitch and doing our video work and analysing the team we are playing against.
“Work has been done behind the scenes and we do as much as we can on the training pitch to make sure we are well-prepared for the games coming up,” the hooker added.
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Ready for battle
Another spanner in the works was the number of players in isolation last week due to COVID-19.
Mbonambi, who was one of those players, says there will be plenty of time this week to get things into place for the first Test.
“Physically I am feeling very well. I had Sunday and Monday to do all my Tests,” Mbonambi said.
He added: “We have the whole week to prepare to make sure that we are ready for the game on Saturday.
“We just have to make sure that we are physically and mentally prepared as much as we can be.
“On Saturday it is up to us as individual players and the team to come together with a great mindset and be ready for battle.”
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