Coach Jacques Nienaber admitted the Springboks have yet to hit the level of play that took them to the Rugby World Cup title in 2019, despite handing the All Blacks a late defeat in their final Rugby Championship clash on Saturday.
Elton Jantjies’s after-the-hooter penalty earned the Springboks a 31-29 win over the All Blacks and reclaim the No.1 spot in the world rankings.
The South Africans were returning to the competition after missing last year’s edition due to the pandemic and Nienaber said he was delighted to have the opportunity to face New Zealand, Australia and Argentina once again.
For us it’s been a tough four weeks. Obviously we lost momentum in not securing victories in the first three games and, in fairness, if you look at it that’s the margins when number one, two and three in the world play against each other.
— Bok coach, Jacques Nienaber
“It’s just amazing to play against our Sanzaar partners again,” he said. “We missed out in 2020 and they bring a different style of play, a different mentality, which is something that is always nice to compete against because it’s a little different to other countries.
“They bring a different skill set and a different risk appetite to the game, which is phenomenal.
“For us it’s been a tough four weeks. Obviously we lost momentum in not securing victories in the first three games and, in fairness, if you look at it that’s the margins when number one, two and three in the world play against each other.”
The Springboks won twice against Argentina in SA, before losing back-to-back clashes with the Australians once the tournament reconvened in Queensland.
They then slipped to a narrow 19-17 defeat in their first meeting with New Zealand last weekend, only to bounce back with Saturday’s victory over the All Blacks.
“It’s good exposure for our game, getting used to games where you’re going to play the World Cup quarterfinals, semifinals, final,” Nienaber said. “This will be the pressure you’ll be under.
“I don’t think we’re at the level we were at in 2019, due to the fact we haven’t played a lot of international rugby in 2020, so we’re not where we want to be yet,” he said.
“But this momentum will help building forward.”
Meanwhile, Nienaber’s New Zealand counterpart, Ian Foster, said he has more immediate concerns than the next Rugby World Cup but believes his All Blacks have learnt lessons from the Rugby Championship that can be used in France in 2023.
“Have we learnt anything that will hold us in good stead for 2023? I think so,” said Foster, whose side had clinched the Rugby Championship title last weekend.
“We’ve spent good time together, we’ve learnt how to manage the ups and downs of different schedules, different travel routines than we would normally have.
“We’ve had to adapt and adjust and often you get that at World Cups.
“We’ve got an eye on that, but it’s only one eye and the thing I love about the international game is that you can’t really look too far forward than what’s happening next week.
“We just love the moment. We’re trying to take steps to grow in our game and I think if you look at the last four to five months we’ve made some good steps.”
The All Blacks will take a short break in Australia, as pandemic restrictions mean they cannot return to New Zealand, before embarking on a four-match stint in the northern hemisphere.
New Zealand travel to Washington to face the US on October 23, before moving to Europe for Test matches against Italy, Ireland and France.
“We’re looking forward to going on our northern hemisphere tour and we’re going to play some different teams again that we haven’t played for a couple of years,” Foster said.
There have been “some great learning moments for us but at the same time we want to go out there and win”, he said.
“One way to get ready for a World Cup is to build confidence through building your game and winning big games”
— Reuters
