The Springbok coaching staff knew exactly what it would take to conquer the upcoming inaugural series against their closest global rivals, and assistant coach Deon Davids has revealed that the battleground was always going to be upfront.
Speaking from the team's base in the United States, Davids zoomed into the team’s set-piece performance, acknowledging that establishing a dominant platform was the primary focal point heading into a clash between the two best teams in the world.
“We were under no illusions that it was going to be very important to have a good set piece,” said Davids.
South Africa’s traditional weapons, the scrum, the lineout, and the rolling maul, have fired on all cylinders recently. For Davids, seeing these facets click is a rewarding validation of the hours spent in training.
“The hard work we’ve been putting into the scrums, the lineouts, and the mauls is starting to show now, and we’re glad things have come together to provide a solid platform for our attack and defence,” Davids said.
However, in true Springbok fashion, complacency is the enemy. Despite their current form, the coaching staff is demanding even more from the world-champion pack.
“That said, there’s always room for improvement, and we continuously try to evaluate our systems, individual effort, and our performance as a pack of forwards, so we’ll keep striving to improve and find better cohesion.”
