Bok Coach on Newlands loss

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers gives his thoughts on what went right and wrong against the All Blacks last week.

SA Rugby Coach’s Corner
http://www.sarugby.co.za/default.asp?des=column&id=6301

By Peter de Villiers

Hi all. The match against the All Blacks at Newlands was disappointing in many respects. We had a really good build-up to the match and the players wanted the occasion to be something special for Percy Montgomery, who played his 100th Test match.

It was fitting that Monty played his 100th international match in front of his home fans, on his home ground where it all started for him in the provincial colours of Western Province. Monty is a model professional and his contribution to the Springboks and South African rugby has been immense and I want to thank him on behalf of the team for his brilliant example throughout the many years he has represented his country.

I thought that although we made many unforced errors, the scoreboard was not a true reflection of the match. We created many chances but were unfortunately led down by our finishing. I would rather want to refer to two aspects of our game which I thought went extremely well.

Andries Bekker had a good match and he is a big lad with a big heart and a good future ahead of him if he continues with the sort of improvement he has been showing since June. It is never easy to lose a player of Bakkies Botha’s caliber, but we are very fortunate to be able to call on a player like Andries.

I also thought that our scrums went particularly well and it is one of the areas that we will look at to keep on improving.. The tight five really played their part and we are looking forward to another good performance in this department against the Wallabies.

Victor Matfield and I attended a media conference this week and we were asked whether we are now more under pressure to win against the Wallabies in the wake of the loss against New Zealand. We responded by saying that every Test match is a serious affair and that we are used to the pressures of each test, especially when we play home in South Africa.

The players and management had a hard and honest discussion after the New Zealand match and we know how much a victory would mean for the supporters. We are determined to build on the good we achieved this year and eager to eliminate the mistakes we made.

I want to assure all the supporters that we value all their encouragements and messages of support. Our players are all passionate and proud of their responsibilities as Springboks and I hope that the Test in Durban will deliver another good contest and also a much better performance than last week.

Keep supporting the Springboks!

Peter de Villiers