Springbok flanker Marco van Staden shot down suggestions on Wednesday that the 10 changes to the Springbok team to face the Wallabies in Perth on Saturday at 11:55 (SA Time) were disruptive to their momentum after their 33-7 victory in Brisbane last week.
Van Staden added that the players didn’t need extra motivation to maintain that standard of play when they meet Australia in their second Castle Lager Rugby Championship clash at the Optus Stadium.
Van Staden, who featured in the RWC in France last year, disagreed with the critics who adopted a negative view of the team changes: “I wouldn’t say it’s a disruption. I don’t think this team needs any more motivation than we currently have for this match.
“All of us want to use this opportunity, and we took a lot of confidence from training this week. The intensity was really up there, and we want to take that energy into the game.”
Van Staden said the fact that a bunch of players in the starting forward pack play together at the Vodacom Bulls, including himself, Elrigh Louw (No 8), Ruan Nortje (lock), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (prop) and Johan Grobbelaar (hooker), would also boost their confidence.
“Many of us have played together quite often at the Bulls, which certainly gives us confidence,” said Van Staden. “We’ve been working together well at training (in the Bok camp too), so we are excited about this opportunity.”
Zooming in on the match, Van Staden said improving their breakdown play has been one of the main focus areas for the team this week after they were challenged by the Wallabies in that department at the Suncorp Stadium last week.
“There has been a big focus on that area of the game this week and to correct the wrongs of last week,” said Van Staden. “We’ve been working on trying to control what we can and to ensure that we are ready for whatever they throw at us in that department.”
