Springboks have adapted well to challenging conditions
Assistant Springbok coach Mzwandile Stick has commended the Bok squad for the manner in which they’ve adjusted to the very different and challenging conditions so far during their 2018 Castle Lager Outgoing Tour to the United Kingdom and Europe.
The Springboks finish their end of the year tour on Saturday when they play Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. The match is South Africa’s fourth tour game and kicks off at 17h20 (+2 hours SA time).
The South Africans opened their tour three weeks ago with an agonising one-point loss to England at Twickenham in London, but Siya Kolisi and his team mates bounced back to win their next two games against France in Paris and Scotland in Edinburgh respectively.
Stick said it is pleasing to see how the SA tourists have adapted to the challenging northern hemisphere conditions, where the playing conditions are mostly wet and slippery.
“I must be honest and give credit to our players for the way they’ve adjusted to the conditions on tour in Europe. They work extremely hard to be well-prepared and I think that is showing in our play at the moment,” according to Stick.
He is also happy with the overall growth of the current squad of players as a Bok group.
“We started a bit slow in June when we played against England and we knew that we have to give opportunities to players and let them play together as we increase the depth of our squad.
“In that respect, we’ve seen a lot of progress and improvement in our squad, especially if you take into account that we’ve a number plenty of chances to players since June as we try and increase our depth for the World Cup”
According to Stick, Wales will be a very difficult side to confront on Saturday.
“They have a number of good performances and wins behind them during this month so we know it’s going to be very tough. Wales have a well-balanced team – there are good on attack strong on defence and also have an impressive kicking game. However, we want to finish the tour on a positive note so we will give it our best effort,” said Stick.
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