Springboks hope to end Rugby Championship with a win

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi says his team does not take South Africans’ anger and frustration with the recent run of results personally. Kolisi underlined that the Boks know what the team means to the country and that they will try to do better in the final Rugby Championship match against New Zealand on Australia’s Gold Coast on Saturday.

The Boks are trying to stem a three-match losing run.

“People are passionate about rugby in our country, we can’t get upset with that, and people are allowed to have their own opinions and people are hurting. People were happy with us and now they are upset and disappointed and it’s not good obviously that we are going through this, losing three games in a row. But people care, that’s the thing and this team means different things to different people and I can’t get upset with that you know,” says Kolisi.

Rather than becoming defensive, Kolisi says that actions speak louder than words.

“There is nothing we can say, the results are the only way we can speak for our efforts and the way we show and us not giving up on the field. Those are the things that will speak, our actions, not the words. There is nothing I can say to change how people feel only by the way we play tomorrow.”

The 101st installment of rugby’s greatest rivalry promises to be another exciting match-up. And after the All Blacks named a full-strength side, backline coach Mzwandile Stick says that this is exactly why the Boks could not afford to take a chance in their team selection.

He says the Boks need to win at all costs, with their strongest available team.

“The team that they have selected, it shows the respect between the two teams that we have even though they have won the championship already, because of the nature of the game between the two of us it will always be tough where they have to select their best team, that is exactly what we have also done. We could have maybe seen an opportunity to give other guys some opportunity but we thought, you know what, we just need to make sure that we win this one and we had to select our best team.”

Stick also underlined that beating the All Blacks is all about small margins, and taking that one opportunity when it presents itself.

“You know the nature of the game between the two teams, the team that takes their opportunities they have a good chance to win the game. It is always a tough game to play against them, they are a great side. You are not going to get five opportunities to score against them, so if you win the game against them, when you get an opportunity you need to take it, that’s something that we need to improve this week,” says Stick.

Saturday’s match will cap an almost 8-week stint in Australia, this was preceded by months of bio-secure living for the team.

The Boks are desperate to end such a gruelling period with a win.