Boks need leader to ‘grab game by scruff of the neck’ against Pumas

24 July 2023 - 13:47
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Captain Eben Etzebeth ran out with a lot on his mind in the Springboks' Rugby Championship defeat against the All Blacks at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand on July 15 2023.
Captain Eben Etzebeth ran out with a lot on his mind in the Springboks' Rugby Championship defeat against the All Blacks at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand on July 15 2023.
Image: Dave Rowland/Getty Images

When the going gets tough against Argentina on Saturday the Springboks need a leader to step up and grab the team by scruff of the neck, says former Bok great Schalk Burger.

After slumping to an error-ridden 35-20 defeat against the All Blacks in Auckland two weeks ago, the Boks will be looking for redemption against Argentina at Ellis Park on Saturday (kickoff 5.05pm).

Burger, a former IRB World Player of the Year, said the Bok dressing room will be an uncomfortable place after a poor showing in their second outing in the Rugby Championship.

A lack of leadership and the absence of regular skipper Siya Kolisi and leader Handré Pollard have been identified as possible reasons for the Boks' demise against the All Blacks, which followed a bright start with a 43-12 win against the Wallabies in Pretoria the week before.

The Boks will have to be at the top of their game on Saturday because the Pumas arrive in South Africa on the back of a thrilling 34-31 win over Eddie Jones' battling Australia.

Asked if the Boks were missing regular skipper Kolisi and the experienced Pollard, Burger said: “I don't think Handré could have made any difference to the number of errors we made in Auckland.

“The Boks have such an experienced side and often things do not run your way. But you have the ability to wrestle the ascendancy away from the team that has all the momentum.

“Unfortunately, the Boks coughed up error upon error. You want your big players to step up.

“We know Siya is a leader who asks everyone to be a part of it. You also have leaders in certain areas of your game.

“I think someone just had to grab the team by the scruff of the neck. A guy like Eben [Etzebeth] had a lot going on that week [with the death of his father] and had not played for three months.

“Often when you haven't played for three months the physical thing is only one aspect but you are mentally a bit off.

“You have to be battle-hardened to have the bandwidth to take yourself out of the moment and say this is our next step. The Boks will ask some questions after this defeat to the All Blacks.

“In 2019, when we split squads and sent guys across earlier, it worked in our favour and we won and everything went according to plan.

“All of a sudden the question is: was it worth it splitting the squad and is it the right team we selected? That is the unfortunate nature of the beast.

“The Bok dressing room that loses is not a comfortable place to be. So the next few weeks will be hard for the Springboks.”

Bok coach Jacques Nienaber said the two opening matches of the Rugby Championship had served a purpose, even if they did not go entirely to plan.

“The majority of the guys had an opportunity to play,” he said.

“Our plan was to win the Rugby Championship and to assess the players. We got some good answers from these two games.

“We’ve got one more game in the championship and then three warm-up games to complete that process.”

Nienaber will name his team to face Argentina tomorrow.

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