De Villiers on why Boks fell short in Rugby Championship title bid
SPOTLIGHT: Springbok legend Jean de Villiers believes a lack of game-plan options is the main reason for the Boks falling short in their Rugby Championship title bid.
The Boks and All Blacks finished this year’s tournament with four wins and two losses. However, the Boks ended up having one less point on the log at the end of it all.
Jacques Nienaber’s side went into their final match against Argentina needing to win with a bonus point and by a margin of 39 points.
They won the match but they failed to meet those specific targets as they lacked the firepower in their backline to truly trouble the Pumas.
There is a view among many fans and pundits that the Springboks might be one-trick ponies against tough opposition and De Villiers has weighed in on that debate.
“It is a constant debate that we have in South Africa,” De Villiers told reporters during a URC round table this week.
“We all know that the South Africans have a really strong pack and they are so dependent on getting either go-forward [ball] or momentum from set-phases.
“The problem with the Boks is when you don’t get that, especially at scrum time and mauls from line-outs.
“If you don’t get a return on those then it just feels that at times that there is not too much else to really apply pressure on the opposition.”
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#ICYMI: Springbok legend Jean de Villiers believes the flyhalf position is a “big red flag” for the Springboks ahead of their Tests in Europe next month. 👇#SouthAfrica #Springboks https://t.co/RQ7LkQuXqB
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URC firepower
De Villiers believes the Boks can add more strings to their bow if they use more of the talent that is on display in the United Rugby Championship.
“I think the opportunity from a URC point of view is that you have some exciting backline players.
“They are improving their skillset in this competition and in trying conditions as well and against proper opposition
“They can take that back into the Springbok team and apply that on the international stage.”
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