Boks win battle, war far from won

20 June 2016 - 09:36 By LIAM DEL CARME

Despite the delirium that engulfed Ellis Park on Saturday, Springbok coach Allister Coetzee cautioned that his team had won only the battleand that the war was next Saturday in Port Elizabeth. "We want to start from zero on Monday (today)," he said after the team's remarkable come-from-behind 32-26 win against Ireland to square the series.Substitute No8 Warren Whiteley shared the coach's call for all hands on deck. This week, he said, was "the real challenge"."That is the cherry on top. This performance [at Ellis Park] will count for nothing if we don't perform well. It will be a crunch game," said Whiteley.As stirring as the comeback was - the Boks were 19-3 down at the break - Coetzee was left with much to ponder. While achieving parity in the set phases, the Bok game was again devoid of momentum. They attacked laterally, kicked poorly tactically and off the tee, conceded too many penalties and were bossed in the collisions.As the half-time whistle was blown they were booed by the crowd of more than 40000 but captain Adriaan Strauss was oblivious to the vocal disenchantment."Maybe I was thinking too much, but I didn't hear it. I found [the support] quite positive, especially in the second half," he said."We deserved it. We didn't play well," said lock Pieter-Steph du Toit of the booing. "It gives you anger and you want to show that you are not that bad."Coetzee needs no reminding that the game is about winning and capturing hearts and minds.Ellis Park is more Colosseum-like than any other ground in the country. Its patrons led a cut-and-thrust existence and they have a particular expectation of their heroes."Everyone is entitled to an opinion. So are we," said Coetzee. "As long as we believe as a team that we are on the right track and doing the right things and our players are selfless in what they are doing, then we are fine. We will embark on this journey and become a better team."If some of his team did not hear the booing, they certainly heard his blast at halftime."I mentioned their names. I wasn't happy with the work ethic and the players responded."The penalties broke our rhythm."Ireland were wholehearted in the first half, but the altitude and an energised Bok bench caught up with them."They delivered an onslaught we didn't match up to," said Ireland coach Joe Schmidt. "They were relatively irrepressible. It will take us a few days to get over the mental anguish of surrendering that lead."..

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