Jean de Villiers
Jean de Villiers has said that he is hoping that his team can dominate in the forwards like they are used to ahead of Saturday’s game against Argentina in Salta.
The Springboks have been famed for the physicality since the inception of the game in the Republic with the forwards often being the heroes on game day.
The Springbok captain is calling for that famed physicality to take centre stage again on the weekend so that the Boks can play their natural game.
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“As a South African rugby player we always like to be physical,” De Villiers said after landing in Salta ahead of the Rugby Championship match on Saturday.
“We base our games around the physicality of the forwards and that is the starting point for us,
“Hopefully we can have that tomorrow [Saturday – against Argentina].”
There is a clear motive personally for De Villiers wanting the forwards to fire – it is well known that a dominant pack means more time and space for the backs.
“When we get our forwards up for a game and we are physical and we do dominate in that department it certainly makes it easier for us as a backline,” the captain continued.
“We will be hoping to have that tomorrow [Saturday].”
De VIlliers has however been critical of the Boks overall play from last week in Pretoria stating that there needs to be improvements all round.
“We are looking to improve in all facets of our game, but in saying that we do want to get an edge in our game where we don’t have to rely totally on our forwards,” De Villiers concluded.
“We want to be clever in what we do.”
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Marcelo Bosch
By Rugby Fun
Argentina’s heartbreaking 6-13 loss to South Africa in Pretoria last week ensured Marcelo Bosch reached a losing streak that was previously exclusive domain of Italian legend Sergio Parisse: 17 Tests without a win.
When the Pumas host the Springboks in Salta on Saturday, he will hope to bring an end to that grim record.
Los Pumas’ poor run in recent years has had consequences far beyond their position on rankings produced by the IRB since 2003 – with Argentina’s 12th place worst in history.
They often have to do without their powerful European-based contingent outside, beginning to rely more on the home-based players this year.
And, of course, they have been unable to record any wins in the Southern Hemisphere’s Rugby Championship, even with their big guns on board.
In fact the last Pumas victory was in November 2013, 19-14 against Italy, 19-14, without the presence of Bosch.
The last time Bosch was part of a victory celebration with the men in blue and white hoops was against Georgia – in the pool stages of 2011 World Cup.
Since then, 16 defeats and a draw has resulted in Bosch joining Italy’s own Argentine, Parisse, as the most capped player without a win.
These defeats include the All Blacks (five losses), Springboks (four), Wallabies (three), France, Ireland, England and Wales – to go with a draw against South Africa in Mendoza in 2012.
The list of Argentineans with the most defeats include Hugo Porta, Santiago Fernández and González Lucas Amorosino, all on 15.
The latter will start with Bosch in the rematch with the Boks on Saturday.
Bosch he can avoid becoming the sole holder of the unwanted record for most consecutive Test defeats.
“We must focus on set pieces,” Bosch said ahead of the trip to Salta on Saturday.
“It [set pieces] went very smoothly last Saturday.
“We must also defend the maul, which is a very important weapon for the Boks,” he added.
He also felt that the home team will have to improve their discipline
“We were guilty of too many offences [in Pretoria last week] and Saturday, with dry conditions, we know that penalties will result in line-outs deep in our half – form where they will launch their attacks.”
Bosch also said Argentina wanted to build on the platform laid with last week’s performance at Loftus Versfeld.
“I hope we can continue to grow our game and improve our self-believe.
“If the weather conditions in Salta on Saturday remain as good as they have been this week, we can expect a more expansive and entertaining game.”