Springbok assistant coach John McFarland says the manner in which they scored was the most pleasing aspect of Saturday’s Soweto hammering.
The Springboks scored nine tries as they got their Rugby Championship campaign off to a perfect start with a 73-13 victory over Argentina at Soccer City.
However, it’s how they scored their tries rather than how many that showed the improvement the team have made over the past 12 months, according to McFarland.
rugby365
McFarland said the performance highlighted the change of mindset the traditionally conservative Springboks had made as well as the ability to execute their counter-attacking approach.
“We scored four drive tries from line-outs at the weekend. If you look over the year we’ve scored a lot of tries, but what’s really improved is our counter-attacking,” McFarland said ahead of this weekend’s return fixture in Mendoza.
“Our ability to get guys back after a kick and get into a positive attacking shape and a mindset to have a go has been really good.”
Asked what prompted the change of approach, McFarland said, “It’s the evolution of the team. Everybody has a buy into that, from No.1 to No.15, and we’re able to use the ball when it does come.”
Known for his line-out expertise, Springbok lock Juandré Kruger showed that he, like the team, has evolved when he won a turnover inside his 22 in the lead-up to centre JJ Engelbrecht’s try following a clever chip from fullback Willie le Roux.
“We focus a lot on our breakdown and our defence. We want to improve every week, we know where we want to be going and it’s definitely a main focus area for us,” said Kruger.
The 27-year-old, who joined French club Racing Metro from the Bulls at the end of the Super Rugby season, insisted, though, that their primary focus remained their set-piece play.
“Set-piece is always something the Springboks pride themselves on. We work very hard on it and have specialists in those fields, coach Pieter de Villiers and Johann van Graan help to prepare us every week,” he said.
“We’ve done very well over the past two years. We’ve learned a lot from each other and we link up very well on the field. At the end of the day it’s about making the right calls on the pitch under pressure.”
Kruger and his second row partner Eben Etzebeth dominated the line-out in the first-round encounter after Pumas veteran Patricio Albacete limped off in the opening quarter of the match.
Kruger said losing Albacete was a big blow for the Pumas but also presented a younger player with an opportunity to make a name for himself.
“He’s an experienced player and it’s always tough to lose an experienced player but if a young guy comes in he brings something different to the table and brings some excitement into the game.
“I’m sure they’ll be up for this game at home for them and the pressure will be on both teams to perform.”
GoSharks And Bokke
My first post`here.Hello everybody
1 @ grumpy:
Grumpy, welcome to Rugby-Talk!
I know you’d registered quite some time back and saw today that you had forgotten and changed your password (I get notified as Webmaster).
Why did you take so long to come talk to us?
Anyway, hope we see a lot of you here on the friendly rugby site, we know you will enjoy it.
@ grumpy:
Welcome to R-T, hope we have some great Rugby discussions.
We would love to know what color tinted glasses you will wear.
Enjoy your time here.
@ grumpy:
Are you bilingual , it will be good to know if we decide to save the TAAL here
3 @ superBul:
Eish… he said in Comment No 1 he’s a Sharkie…. poor man!
@ grootblousmile:
swak gelees, eisssh Puma will enjoy this extra mouth
6 @ superBul:
Wonder if he also rates every Sharks player as the best in position in the entire universe, like some of his Sharks brothers, hint, hint…
1 @ grumpy:
No wonder you are grumpy, grumpy… you support the Tjarkssss…
Now if you’d supported the Bulls, you might have been one of the other dwarfs, “Happy”!
If you supported the Lions, you would have been “Dopey” or “Sleepy”
If you had supported the Cheetahs you would have been “Doc”
If you had supported the Stormers, you would have seen Snow White as your opposition for the attention of the other dwarfs and your name would have been “Bashful” or “Sneezy”… well “Sleezy” actually.
1 @ grumpy:
Hello grumpy welcome to the site
8 @ grootblousmile:
talking of food better go and get ours ready cheers vir eers 
Hello GBS, jy het duidelik mielies vir jou aandete gehad want jys baie pittig
10 @ Bullscot:
Hehehe
Dankie vir d ie hartlike welkom.Beslis tweetalig.Wil vir my voorkom dat as Sharks ondersteuner
het ek berading nodig.As gevolg van sekere omstanghede het die pouse tussen my orspronklike registrasie en die pos lank geduur. Tot volgende keer
Berading = beradering
12 & 13 @ grumpy:
Hey, as ons grappe met jou maak moet jy ons terugkap met so paar quirps van jou eie!
Moet nou nie weer so lank vat voor jy terugkeer nie.
@ grootblousmile:
Ja ek weet.Aldus my beradering komentaar.Ten spyte van my naam is ek nie ,n suurknol nie.
Ek skakel nou oor na die ROOI TAAL.GO SHARKS Only 2 words Was hulle eerste helfte skrum nie ongelooflik nie.
15 @ grumpy:
We have no problem whatsoever with English here, in fact most of our content is in English.
However, sometimes we gooi a bit of Afrikaans as well when we see that the current visitors are Afrikaans.
Whatever the situation, it must always be easy for guys to visit here and converse, makes it all that much more pleasant for everybody.
Tell me, it interests me when new folk join… where did you get to hear about Rugby-Talk? Google, a referral, someone talking about us…
Time for honesty.Am registered on another site.Came on here as tribute to Puma who can conduct
a conversation without resorting to Blasphemy or foul language.
Love Afrikaans.Cannot understand how white people who required Afr.in matric to this day
flounder when required to speak it in everyday conversation.
Good night all
17 @ grumpy:
No shame in that… there’s a lot here who are registered on more than one site.
You might just like this site very much then, because our motto here is mutual respect. One can differ, banter and still show respect… like you have already witnessed on this thread.
Made a couple of jokes about your nickname, had some fun… but nothing was personal or meant to hurt!
See, we see ourselves here as an extended family of likeminded rugby crazy fellas & flatties… a community which flourishes on strenght of someting which binds us all… rugby.
Invite your mates too!
In fact a lot of us, myself included, blogged on the site which I think you come from (we call the short man’s site “Voldy”), till we could not stand what was happening there anymore. We simply opened our own thing 4 years and 1 week ago… and the rest is history.
@ grootblousmile:
Ek is net so flokkin grumpy….my vliegtuig in Jeddah verpas Sondag, moes twee dae op lughawe sit sonder drank en lugreeling, later toe maar bus gevat huistoe, 1,100 km deur die flokkin woestyn, en toe breek die bus se lugreeling ook….in 45 grade C.
Vandag hier aangekom, nog flokken grieperig. daarby ook
So ja, ek is ook grumpy…flok sokker, vlok die minister van vervoer, vlok die minister van onderwys…ens.
VIVA Rugby, VIVA! LONG LEAVE, LONG LEAVE!!!!
O, hello al julle RT-voorvelle, amper vergeet ek om te groet.
19 @ Pietman:
Hellooooooo Woestynrot!
Terug by die soutmyne… en nogal sonder die vrou ook… eish!
Wat het jy van die Bokke se vertoning gedink Saterdag?
@ grootblousmile:
Ja, vrou maak huis en woonstel en kar reg, dit reen n hond uit n bosuit daar in Gansbaai, kry nie klaar geverf nie.
Kuk trip gehad, gooi klip kar Sondag se ruit uit oppad lughawe toe ook nog, kar vandag terug by PG Glas vir tweede ruit in n week, eishhh!
Bokke was ok, het net vrot begin met al die doellose skoppery. Die nuwe skrumreel pas ons,dink ek.
Maar Argies is maar kukkas jong,hulle is nie eintlik n maatstaf vir ons nie.
Bokke sal moet ophou balle wegskop in middelveld op teen die Kiwis.
@ grootblousmile:
Praat more bruvva, ek moet pisvel toe, lanklaas geslaap.
Tjorts.
21 @ Pietman:
Kyk, wat die Bokke aanbetref, een swaeltjie maak nie somer nie… so 1 goeie wen is nie goed genoeg nie.
Maar die Pumas issie kak nie, hulle het gewen teen ‘n baie sterk NSW Barbarians span (basies die Waratahs), eers net-net en toe 2 weke terug met 58 / 12 of so iets. In Junie het ‘n Pumas B-span verloor teen Engeland (sonder die Pumas Franse en UK spelers), maar hulle was nou reeds vir ‘n maand saam in voorbereiding vir laas Saterdag.
So, dit was goed van die Bokke Saterdag, maar NOU wil ons dit weer hê in Mendoza, Argentnia… ten minste ‘n bonuspunt wen…
All Blacks was flippen goed Saterdag… ook spesifiek in die 2de halfte en hulle sal die Wallabies weer klap hierdie Saterdag.
Hoop ons kan wen teen die Wallabies met styl, in Australië… en goed doen teen die All Blacks
22 @ Pietman:
Nag Piet Verdriet…
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