Allister Coetzee says it would be ‘living in a fool’s paradise’ to think the Springboks will be able to just easily overcome the All Blacks at Newlands. CRAIG LEWIS reports in Bloemfontein.
The Boks played out to another disappointing draw against the Wallabies in Bloemfontein on Saturday, but Coetzee insisted it was an effort to be proud of, despite the fact that the hosts failed to claim a win that appeared to be there for the taking.
The draw leaves the Boks in second place on the Rugby Championship standings, but should they lose against the All Blacks in Cape Town this Saturday and the Wallabies defeat Argentina, they could well finish third.
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Considering that the Boks suffered a historic heaviest-ever 57-0 loss to the All Blacks in Albany a fortnight ago, the pressure will be on Coetzee’s men to ensure they don’t suffer another blowout on their home turf.
The Bok coach insisted that the team would always prepare with a winning mentality, but also intimated that there was a need for perspective.
‘Now we can focus on next week, and we’ll be playing against a really good All Blacks side. But it’s just been a few months since this team has got together this year, so to think that we can just go and topple the All Blacks easily would be living in a fool’s paradise. I think we have to look at the strides we’re taking and build on what we have.
‘We are still hurting obviously from the previous result against them, but we will prepare as well as we can, and we will be ready for them at Newlands.’
Although the Boks failed to capitalise on a number of clear-cut try-scoring opportunities against the Wallabies, Coetzee insisted that this clinical edge is something that the team would develop the longer they spent time together.
‘When you draw at home it actually feels like a loss, but I’m very proud of this team and the effort. After a tough two weeks it just shows the character of the side, and that was tested. It’s been an emotional week and we spoke of turning it around. Although the Wallabies got off to a fast start and scored first, we got stuck in.
‘We created a lot of opportunities and that to me alone is a massive positive. Yes, we left a lot of opportunities out there, but with the processes we’re busy with, this team can feel that at one stage they were the better team out there. I know we have to win, but we are taking steps in the right direction.’
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Meanwhile, Uzair Cassiem is a likely injury concern ahead of next Saturday’s Bok Test against the All Blacks after sustaining a rib injury against the Wallabies.
Cassiem had to leave the field early on in Bloemfontein and was clearly in some discomfort, with Jean-Luc du Preez having to come off the bench to take over at No 8.
Should Cassiem be ruled out, Coetzee would have to decide whether to continue with Jean-Luc at No 8 or hand his brother Dan his Test debut.
Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images
