Mortlock gives his 2c

The Australians continue to talk ahead of their Tri Nations opener against SA at Newlands on Saturday. Today it was the turn of Stirling Mortlock to weigh in with his opinion of the current Springbok side and the apparent improvement in the state of SA rugby (on the field, of course).

“The South Africans have always had strong forwards and a good pack, where they have improved is in their ability to get the ball across the gainline through their bigger backs

“They now have the backs to play the game a lot more expansively, and it is working for them. There is a lot of depth in South Africa, so while I think obviously them not having Bryan Habana against us might make it just a little bit easier for us, they have enough depth to cover for his absence.

“It is going to require a significant lift in intensity in comparison to what we have faced so far this season. The Springboks easily beat England, they are confident and they are playing well.

“Everything is about the World Cup this year, everything is building up to that, and if we can win against the Springboks in our first Tri-Nations game, so managing something that we haven’t done for a long time, it would mean a great deal to us and would be a perfect way to start.

“We have lost a lot of games in this country, but a lot of those have just been by a couple of points. The Boks are a different proposition at home. They lift themselves quite significantly and in their games against us they often get a head start. Our task must be to match them from the outset.”