CRAIG LEWIS looks at five key areas for the Springboks to be competitive in Saturday’s Test against the All Blacks at Newlands.

Defence
The Springboks may well still be having nightmares over the Albany aberration that saw them concede 57 unanswered points and eight tries in a historic defeat where they also missed as many as 33 tackles. It was a brutal 80 minutes for the Boks, considering their defence had appeared to be much-improved in the lead-up to that clash, but the manner in which they respond this Saturday is sure to be telling. The Springboks’ defence was again exposed by Australia at times last Saturday, but they are still ranked second in the Rugby Championship in terms of their 83.9% tackle success rate. While a high-paced press defence will serve to cut down the All Blacks’ time and space on attack, it is a high-risk approach that can often expose space for New Zealand to exploit through an astute kicking game. The Springboks desperately need to establish a better balance to their defensive approach this Saturday, while ensuring they are more clinical in terms of their one-on-one tackling.

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Decision-making
The Boks have spoken of the fact that they won’t completely abandon their ball-in-hand ambition this Saturday, but they must add a clinical edge to their attack at Newlands. A host of opportunities went a-begging against Australia last Saturday due to some poor decision-making and ill-timed offloads. The Boks shouldn’t go into their shells this weekend, but they also can’t afford to replicate the sort of loose and reckless approach that would play right into the hands of the All Blacks. In order to live with the Kiwis, the Springboks need to add some pragmatism and composure to their play, while adopting a more direct approach before earning the right to go wide.

Set pieces
Springbok assistant coach Matt Proudfoot perhaps summed it up best earlier this week when he highlighted the fact that a malfunctioning set piece could often be the difference between winning and losing. During the horror show in Albany, the Boks lost as many as five lineouts and three scrums, which completely threw their game into disarray. In this regard, hooker Malcolm Marx will have a crucial role to play at the lineouts, while the Bok scrum needs to be vastly improved from last Saturday. The All Blacks will come with sheer brutality at scrum-time, but if the Boks can achieve parity at this set piece, it will go a long way to ensuring the hosts can hold their own at Newlands.

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Kicking battle
It can’t be overlooked that the All Blacks’ halfback pairing of Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett appear to be back to their best form. The duo offer plenty of threats in terms of their quick-thinking on attack, but are just as good at recognising and exploiting space through the use of the boot. The Boks can’t afford for these players to dictate play and win the kicking duel, and in this regard Elton Jantjies must ensure he gets the Boks playing from the right areas of the field. Aimless out-of-hand kicking has haunted the Springboks at times in this Rugby Championship, and they simply cannot afford to hand the All Blacks possession on a platter through poor exit play. It also goes without saying that Jantjies needs to convert whatever goal-kicking opportunities present themselves.

Physicality
In the lead-up to Saturday’s Test, the All Blacks have sought to suggest that they still have the utmost respect for the physicality and rivalry offered by the Boks. This may be standard pre-match fare, but if the Boks are to avoid another one-sided result, they have to make their presence felt in the physical exchanges. Malcolm Marx, Eben Etzebeth and even Siya Kolisi have proven that they can influence proceedings with powerful ball-carrying, and the Boks must avoid being forced on to the back-foot once again by the All Blacks. The Bok pack needs to lay a foundation on Saturday, and match the New Zealand forwards pound for pound. It should be a brutal physical battle, and the manner in which the Springboks fare in these exchanges will speak volumes whether or not they are up for the fight.

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