Springboks Coach Jacques Nienaber says he is proud of his charges, especially in terms of their defensive effort South Africa won 49 -18 over Tonga in the Rugby World Cup pool stage in Marseille, France on Sunday night.
This was the Boks’ final Pool match. They now have to wait for the match between Ireland and Scotland which will decide the outcome of Pool B.
The Springboks needed a bonus point against Tonga.
Nienaber says he is proud of Springboks fly-half Handre Pollard. “I think if you look at his ball carries, that was decisive, his level of defence changed well and he put some proper shoulder hits. I thought his off-the-ball work was good, his kicking in general was good.”
Springboks Captain, Siya Kolisi says, “They were tough, the coach prepared us well and I applaud the boys for sticking to the plan, and the best thing is that we got the bonus point and accumulated as many points as we could. The most analysed player on the field was probably Springbok fly-half Handre Pollard. The coaches will have a tough decision for their next game, most likely against France.”
Nienaber says he is also proud of hooker Deon Fourie.
“I thought he was brilliant, he did the basics extremely well and towards the back end of the game we got a couple of turnovers, and we always say that the breakdowns are more frequent than the set pieces and he applied himself well there.”
The Pool B decider between Ireland and Scotland takes place on Saturday evening, while the quarter-finals are on 14 and 15 October.
VIDEO: Build up to Springboks vs Tonga clash:
