“Cautious” Boks set sights on the Freedom Cup
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick set their sights firmly on trying to clinch the Freedom Cup for the first time since 2009 when they line up against New Zealand in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday, and both expected an epic 80-minute battle.
Apart from the Freedom Cup, the Springboks can also make a big leap up the Castle Lager Rugby Championship standings. They also have the opportunity to change their fortunes in Cape Town, where the All Blacks have traditionally had the upper hand over South Africa, while the Boks can also win their fourth successive game against New Zealand – a feat they have only achieved once before.
While all this will serve as massive motivation for the Boks, Kolisi and Stick both said they expected a gruelling encounter on Saturday, and the Bok captain also assured the media on Friday that he was ready for the match after suffering a nasal fracture in last week’s 31-27 victory in Johannesburg.
“I’m fine, there’s nothing I can do about it,” said Kolisi. “I spoke to the team doctor, and he said it’s all about how much pain I can take.
“I’ve trained all week, which is all I needed to do to be selected. The worst that can happen is that it (my nose) breaks worse, but I’m planning to get it fixed anyway.”
Of his decision to put his country before his own health in this massive encounter, the double Rugby World Cup-winning skipper said: “It’s not just important for me, the match is huge for the whole team.
“We are in a place we’ve never been before in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and over and above that, we’ve only seen photographs of the Freedom Cup; most of us in this group haven’t touched it.
“We are also playing in Cape Town for the first time in many years, and a good result this weekend could place us in a favourable position to win the competition.
“So, for us, the key is to put our front foot forward from the outset, rather than trying to fight back the way we did last week. The players the All Blacks have selected shows how they want to play, so it is crusial for us to start this match strongly.”
Stick agreed with Kolisi and warned that one could never write off the All Blacks.
“You can never be comfortable playing against New Zealand,” said Stick.
“We saw after the match we won against them in Mbombela [last year] how they bounced back, and they did the same against Argentina earlier in the competition this year, so if we are not at our best, they can put you away.
“They’ve also selected backs that we cannot afford to allow space. We’ve certainly learned from the past what can happen if we don’t pitch up properly mentally and physicality.”
The Bok assistant coach added: “You can never relax when you play against them, and as Siya said, we’ve never been in a position like this in the tournament. We know how tough it’s going to be to try to secure a win, and to win the Freedom Cup.
“It’s a special trophy and with our country celebrating 30 years of democracy it’s an important occasion for South Africa, so we’ll do everything we can to win the trophy.
“That said, most of the games between us recently could have come down to the last second. In fact, the only match in which we were in a comfortable position against them was in the Rugby World Cup warm-up game at Twickenham last year.
“We know they’ll be desperate to get five points from this match. It will be tough, but we live for moments like these.”
Kolisi was excited about taking the field in front of a crowd that has traditionally showed strong support for New Zealand and said the Boks understood the reasons for that, and that they embraced all the supporters.
“This is going to be a great occasion,” said Kolisi. “We would obviously like as many South African supporters there as possible, but we have to respect all the supporters and their views, so there are no hard feelings from us.
“The main thing will be to go out there and play the best rugby we can. If we do that, hopefully we can sway a few supporters our way.”
The match kicks off at 17h00 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
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