Van Graan says the Springboks have done their homework on the French

06 June 2017 - 18:51 By Mahlatse Mphahlele
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Assistant coach Johann van Graan of the Springboks talking to the media and Eben Etzebeth of the Springboks talking to the media during the South African national mens rugby team media briefing at Southern Sun Pretoria Hotel on June 06, 2017 in Pretoria, South Africa.
Assistant coach Johann van Graan of the Springboks talking to the media and Eben Etzebeth of the Springboks talking to the media during the South African national mens rugby team media briefing at Southern Sun Pretoria Hotel on June 06, 2017 in Pretoria, South Africa.
Image: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images

One of the key areas receiving specific attention in the Springboks’ preparations for Saturday’s first Test against France at Loftus Versfeld is the effectiveness of the rolling maul.

The lack of proper rolling mauls was identified as one of the troublesome ares when the Springboks won just four out of twelve international matches last year.

Speaking at a press conference at the team’s base in Pretoria on Tuesday‚ Springboks assistant coach Johann van Graan said they are working on finding solutions to the problem.

“The driving maul is a massive part of South African and world rugby (and) if you look at what happened at Super Rugby this season‚ all the teams use their drives‚" he said.

"In 2016 we were the team that drove the third most and we must continue to do that because it is one of our strengths.”

Van Graan said the traditional rolling maul is part of the South African rugby culture and it has worked very well for the national team in the past.

The Lions have been impressive with their running mauls in Super Rugby this year and it is hoped the influence of captain Warren Whiteley and a number of his franchise teammates will run on to the Springboks.

The Springboks are also looking to stamp their authority on the scrums and the line-outs‚ areas they used to dominate.

“Once again‚ if you look back at 2016 and combine the scrum and lineout percentages‚ South Africa and France were number one in the world.

"They are very good at scrums‚ line-outs and they have some very good movements‚” said Van Graan.

In the current squad‚ the Springboks have prop Steven Kitshoff‚ loose forward Duane Vermeulen and flyhalf/centre Frans Steyn who play their rugby for Bordeaux‚ Toulon and Montpellier in France respectively.

Van Graan hopes the trio will provide vital information on the French players and help with planning ahead of the encounter.

“We are very lucky to have a number of players playing in France and hopefully we will use their knowledge to our advantage‚" he said.

"We are focusing on ourselves‚ this is a start of a new journey.

"We don’t have that much information about them bar the Six Nations and they will probably come with a few new things.

"But we have done our homework.

“They are a very good side.

"You just have to look at their performances at the Six Nations‚ they are very structured in what they do.

"They are the best percentage team in the scrums and they have some very good decision-makers.”

- TMG Digital/TMG Sport

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