The Springboks know what they have to do to fight back from their defeat against the Wallabies when the sides meet for the second time in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in Brisbane on Saturday. Franco Mostert said the team had put the match behind them and were focused on delivering a quality performance at the Suncorp Stadium.
“A lot of guys didn’t expect what happened last weekend, but this is rugby, the ball can bounce either way, and your plan can either work or not,” said Mostert, who played on the blindside flank last weekend, but is equally at home at lock.
“Australia deserves credit for the way they played, they were hungrier than us. But the guys are positive and confident, and we are working hard, so hopefully, we can bounce back stronger this weekend.”
Mostert added: “We know where we are, we’ve been here before, and we know what we need to do.”
After scoring three tries to one against the Wallabies, Mostert said there was no need to make drastic changes to their game plan.
“I don’t think we’ll change our plan,” said the tough-as-nails forward, who boasts 45 Test caps.
“What we are doing has worked for us. There are a few things we need to improve on, but the main thing is that we need to sharpen up (our execution), and hopefully things will go our way on Saturday.”
On a personal note, Mostert was excited about his versatile role in the forward pack where he is equally capable at lock and loose forward, although he admitted that filling Pieter-Steph du Toit’s boots was a big task.
“It has been an amazing journey (from playing lock to covering lock and flank),” said Mostert.
“The players in the squad will wear any number on their back just to be in the team, and part of this tour group.
“I had big boots to fill stepping in for a quality flank such as Pieter-Steph du Toit, but I can only do my best and try to make everyone proud. I had the backing of the coaches too, so it wasn’t tough to make the switch.”