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Springboks latest: Wayward Pollard, injured Kolbe, creaking scrum
Springboks assistant coach Deon Davids has provided a wide-ranging squad update following last Sunday’s dramatic last-gasp Rugby Championship loss to Australia on the Gold Coast, jumping from Handre Pollard to Cheslin Kolbe and onto the set-piece.
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The world champions have since relocated to Brisbane ahead of Saturday’s rematch versus the Wallabies and their team announcement is expected at 11am (SAT) on Wednesday. Ahead of that big reveal, assistant Davids fronted the media virtually on Tuesday and was pressed on how Pollard has reacted to his inaccuracy off the tee, what the current status is of Kolbe’s injury, and what the consensus is on the problems the Springboks encountered at the scrum.
In a match the Springboks lost narrowly 28-26 to a late Quade Cooper penalty, the inaccuracy of Pollard off the tee in missing two penalties and a conversion has been a hot topic in the fallout from what was the first away from home Test match played by the Springboks since their November 2019 World Cup final win over England in Japan.
Asked what the reflections have been on a rare day where Pollard let the team down with his striking, Davids replied: “That is an area that we obviously did discuss and looked at but Handre Pollard is a professional rugby player, he is a quality individual on and off the field. He is the first guy who will say he didn’t perform, he wasn’t on song with his kicking game.
“But we know what he can do and know he is a guy that takes pride in the way he does things. We are confident he will correct that and will work hard in order to improve in that specific area. We will look at it collectively in terms of using the squad and what the challenges are going forward and we will make a decision accordingly.”
The Springboks have gone back to work following last Sunday's loss to the Wallabies but they have done so minus one of their specialist locks #Springboks #RSAvAUS #RugbyChampionship #TRC2021https://t.co/HjEbnDjs8Z
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 14, 2021
Kolbe, a first-choice winger, wasn’t involved in the round three loss having been sidelined with a leg injury since the mid-August win over Argentina in Port Elizabeth, but whether he will be available for selection to take on the Wallabies next Saturday in round four wasn’t conclusive. “We travelled Monday and today [Tuesday] had extensive meetings where we discussed the key areas of our game and had a walk-through. All the players, all the guys with niggles, were involved in terms of that. Tomorrow [Wednesday] we will hit the field running and have clarity on the injuries. All the niggles are being assessed and when we hit the field we will know exactly where we stand.”
Switching to the scrum, an area of the game that the Springboks greatly prides itself on, some problems were encountered in a match refereed by England’s Luke Pearce and with another English official, Matthew Carley, set to take charge in Brisbane, steps have been taken to ensure there are no repeat frustrations at the set-piece. “Set-piece is a very important part of our game,” admitted Davids.
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“Talking about scrums, it’s an area that is really difficult to officiate and the important thing for us looking back is we just need to make sure there is alignment between the pictures that we see as coaches and the pictures that the referees have seen. Going forward, we understand how we need to interpret and the areas we need to work on.
“The calls can go any way but it is competitive and I feel for the referees and the players in terms of the calls they have to make and also in terms of the reward that is expected in the specific areas. Looking back at today we had clear discussions in terms of that. There were also discussions with the referee in terms of the interpretation and going forward we will have a better understanding in terms of what we need to do to make sure we get rewarded.”
"I was having a drink of Red Bull thinking he [Biggar] will be fine. Then he went back down again and I was like, ‘He is going to come off so I better stand up and shake a leg a little bit’."
– Finn Russell was in sparkling Lions form on @TheRugbyPod https://t.co/2g4uIvwdhS
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 14, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
10 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
10 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
10 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
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