With his coach looking and sounding a little exasperated during the interrogation that followed the Springboks’ 19-16 defeat to Ireland in Dublin, captain Siya Kolisi jumped in.
Nienaber had been probed about how he would fix some of the team’s more glaring shortcomings from that Test before Kolisi took command of the microphone in the post-match press conference.
“Our line-outs can be better,” the captain started. “It is something that we are good at. Our mauls were stopped, then obviously our scrums can be much better. We normally dominate in that area. Ireland came prepared, they know our maul was a key thing.”
That is perhaps the nub. Ireland came well fortified in key areas of Springbok strength.
Most teams know the Springboks use the brute force of their forwards, the persistent brutality of their defence and the precision of their kicking game to suffocate opponents.
The Boks have “a stop us if you can” mentality, and when they ground to a halt at the Aviva Stadium they had little else to turn to.
The Boks may come with familiarity, but in this match the smart money might have been on the Springboks anticipating what the opposition was going to do better given Rassie Erasmus, Irishman Felix Jones and Nienaber’s knowledge of the game in these parts.
Instead it was Ireland who read the Springboks like a James Joyce novel. They didn’t just maintain parity in the scrums but went on the offensive in the second half.
Ireland coach Andy Farrell lauded the performance of tight head Tadgh Furlong, who he replaced at halftime, but they earned crucial scrum penalties in the second half once both teams had turned to their bench.
In the maul too, an area where the Boks usually get great traction, they were repelled by resolute Ireland defence. “Use it, once ...” became the referee's chilling caution every time the Springbok maul grounded to a halt.
It wasn’t just Ireland’s defence at the maul that helped get them over the line. They tellingly profited from a maul of their own when they scored the first try of the evening through super flank Josh van der Flier.
Not that the Boks were unaware of the Irish potency in that area. “They scored against us, and France, big teams. And against New Zealand they scored twice,” Nienaber reminded.
Kolisi was also left to lament the spurned opportunities that helped cost the Springboks the match.
“Like before in the Rugby Championship we created many opportunities that we didn’t finish off. Ireland got two opportunities, and they scored from both,” noted Kolisi.
The Springboks’ goal kicking was also off radar, and it is still unclear how they will remedy it before next weekend’s game against France in Marseille.
Not that he would be the panacea, but in Manie Libbok the Springboks have a goal kicker who has held his nerve in high-pressure situations.
That would mean a slight reshuffle of the deck chairs in their backline selections. Libbok at flyhalf will mean a shift back to fullback for Damian Willemse, while Cheslin Kolbe will vacate that jersey and resume his duties on the right wing.
Nienaber sounded less than enthusiastic when asked about a change in personnel in that area. He explained that they look at the entire package, but when coaches are under pressure they tend to steer to the safer, more predictable waters.
Reliable goal kickers bring that assurance. When a game is in the balance reliable goal kickers are worth their weight in gold, as the Springboks again reminded themselves last year when Morne Steyn again clinched a series against the British & Irish Lions.
The spectre of losing the first two matches on their tour may be too ghastly to contemplate for Nienaber and Erasmus. When the men who are entrusted to kick at goal look like they’ve been tossed a hand grenade, it is perhaps time to hand the responsibility to someone who will warm to that task.
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