Time to shine for Boks
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers believes that the extra preparation time his team have had will see them make a step up from their performances against England.
The Boks have been preparing for their Rugby Championship opener against Argentina in Cape Town for the last two weeks and De Villiers is convinced that the extra time together will see them find more fluency and cohesion than they managed in the rushed series victory over England in June.
Although the Sharks players in the squad were managed carefully last week as they recovered from their ridiculuous Super Rugby travel schedule, Heyneke Meyer was able to put his squad through some intensive physical training as well as going into far more detail than they were able to cover in June.
De Villiers said that the squad has a far more settled feel to it than they did before England, which also means that there will be no excuses if they are not able to produce a quality performance on Saturday.
"Our preparation was much better than it was for the England series. We had a really good week last week, we were able to work on our fitness and structures so we are in a good space.
"A lot went on before that first Test against England, I was only appointed the Sunday before the first Test and I only had three training session with the team as captain, but we are much more comfortable with each other now and we know where we need to go and what we need to do to be successful," he said.
The experienced midfielder said that it will be important for his side to bounce back from the disappointment of the last Test against England in Port Elizabeth, where they let the visitors back into the game and had to settle for a frustrating draw.
"We let ourselves down in the last Test against England and we need to work hard to rectify that," he said.
Although Argentina may be something of an unknown quantity ahead of their debut match in the competition, De Villiers said that his team has a good idea of what to expect from the competitive South American side.
"We are expecting anything, they pride themselves on their forward play and have a flyhalf [Juan Martin Hernandez] that can really dominate the game, and then they have got some dangerous backs who have experience in the Englaish Premiership and French Top 14 competition.
"They have been waiting a long time to be included in the competition and they are a quality side so I am sure they will spring a few surpises, but we want to focus on what we need to do," he said.
The Bok skipper dismissed suggestions that Argentina could fizzle out after throwing the kitchen sink at his side in the opening stages and said that they are prepared to fight for 80 minutes against what is a quality side.
"The will be highly motivated throughout the game, from the first whistle right until the end. They are a passionate country and they will show that passion.
"We know that we are up against a good team, no matter what jersey they are wearing, and we know what we are capable of and what we need to do on Saturday," he said.
By Michael de Vries
