The Springboks don’t want to fall into the “Ireland trap” when they face New Zealand in Cape Town this weekend, so scrumhalf Grant Williams stressed the importance of remaining consistent after their victory in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The win, which marked the Boks’ third in a row in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, saw them stretch their lead at the top of the table. South Africa currently lead the competition on 14 points, ahead of New Zealand (six points), Argentina (five) and Australia (four), who recorded their maiden win of the championship over the Pumas on Saturday.
The victory over the All Blacks was also the Boks’ third win in a row over their arch-rivals and while Williams described the victory as “special” – particularly given the emphasis in the media last week about the team’s disappointing track record against the All Blacks at Emirates Airline Park – the Bok scrumhalf made it clear that they wanted to build on that this week before facing Argentina in Santiago and Nelspruit later in the month with an eye on trying to clinch the title for the first time since 2019.
Williams was thrilled about the result after they fought their way back from 27-17 down to snatch the victory: “It was special for the group as a whole. We placed a big emphasis on sticking together, especially during the tough times, so we are happy about the result. The last time I faced them was in New Zealand last year and we got a hiding in that match, so it was a great feeling to get a victory against them this time.”
With the match now behind them, they immediately turned their focus to what is expected to be another epic encounter against their 2023 Rugby World Cup final opponents in Cape Town and said it would take another massive team effort to build on that result.
Williams said, “Attempting to win the competition is a massive goal for us, so we need to ensure that we maintain consistency in our performances.”
The nippy scrumhalf insisted the players’ feet were still firmly on the ground, and he was certain that complacency would not creep in despite the Boks’ impressive showing in the competition so far.
“We are pleased with how we are growing as a team, but I don’t think we’ll take our foot off the gas,” said Williams. “We are really looking forward to next week’s match, and we know is going to be equally as tough, if not tougher.”
