Springboks forced to re-think

The stunning defeat against Japan forced the Springbok coaching staff to bin their pre-tournament plans.

The stunning defeat against Japan forced the Springbok coaching staff to bin their pre-tournament plans.

Published Oct 7, 2015

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London – It was not suppose to be this way. This evening’s match against the US was pre-planned to be about those in the 31-man Bok squad previously relegated to supporting roles getting time on centre stage, but Japan changed everything assistant coach Johann van Graan has admitted.

The Boks have picked their best possible team for the game and Van Graan said the backward step taken in Brighton when the squad had expected to hit the ground running had forced the coaching staff to bin their pre-tournament plans.

“A lot was chucked out the window when we lost to Japan,” Van Graan said. “Because of that false start to the tournament we were left chasing the pack in Pool B and every remaining game became a must-win – and that is why the team we had originally envisaged for this game is very different to the one that will take the field.”

Van Graan said that the coaching staff had been meticulous in their planning for the Pool stages but had learned the lesson that “you cannot plan beyond what is immediately in front of you”.

“A week in rugby is a long time, you can have your plans but things can change quickly and then it is about how you react, and how you adapt to what unfolds,” he said.

“For us, it became very simple – we had to suck up the valid criticism that we had underestimated the opposition and then embrace the reality that every game from then on was essentially a knock-out game if we wanted to get into the quarter-finals.”

Noting has changed. Despite wins against Samoa and Scotland, a Bok loss tomorrow could still mean the end of the World Cup road. If Japan and Scotland win their games at the weekend, against the US and Samoa respectively, the Boks will be home on Monday.

“We should win if we stick to what has worked over the last fortnight,’ Van Graan said. “It is a simple game plan that will bring us victories more often than not if we execute it properly,” he said.

To that end he said the Boks are looking to improve their tactical kicking, their restarts, their varying of play when on the attack in the opposition 22, and they want to restore their 100percent record in the line-outs. They lost one on their throw against Scotland after being impregnable in this facet of the game in Brighton and Birmingham. - The Star

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