Springboks won't 'stuff it up' again, promises skipper Siya Kolisi ahead of All Blacks clash

On the eve of the big rematch between the Springboks and the All Blacks in Wellington, Siya Kolisi was still annoyed with the charity his team gave to the Kiwis in Auckland and has promised a more efficient performance.

At Eden Park, the Boks gifted the All Blacks 14 early points, while in the second half, when the Boks dominated, they tossed opportunities away like confetti.

“The review of the game was tough watching,” Kolisi said ruefully. “To create 13 opportunities in their 22 and only take two of them was not good at all.

“You (usually) don’t get anywhere near that many chances against New Zealand, especially away from home. It is rare. Some teams get that many chances to score in a year.

“We saw how we stuffed it up, and a lot of it was our own doing,” the skipper continued. “That was the difficult part. It was frustrating watching it back. Sometimes it was an individual error, and then another one, followed by another…

“Hopefully, we have learned from it and fix it this weekend — when we get opportunities, we must take them. The All Blacks didn’t get a lot, but the ones they had, they took ruthlessly.”

A specific area where the Bok were clumsy was the breakdown. The All Blacks were indeed allowed to get away with murder by referee Karl Dickson, but the Boks were not streetwise enough to sort it out themselves. The result was slow ball for scrumhalf Grant Williams, who was done no favours by his forwards.

“We definitely learned from the previous game,” said Kolisi. “We saw the strategy they used, and we’ve made plans for that. We’ll be ready for it this weekend.

“It’s good to have Jasper (Wiese) back, but they also have backs who counter at the breakdown. We have seen clips of Leroy (Carter), who has come in from sevens (on the wing), getting into breakdowns too. So it’s not just the forwards, it’s also the backline players.

“We know we weren’t good enough last week, especially on our exits, and they came hard at our breakdown. We worked on it this week, and we’ve learned from it.”

An area where the Boks had a clear advantage was the set scrums. Late in the game, the Bok forwards forced a tighthead that led to a try for Malcolm Marx.

Kolisi said his pack aims to build on that dominant performance.

“The scrum sessions this week were very hard – both packs put in some serious work,” he said. “It’s never about who dominates whom in training. We want to give our best to make sure both packs are ready for the game.

Coach Rassie Erasmus has again opted for the starting front row of Thomas du Toit, Marx, and Ox Nche, with a strong finishing front row coming on in Marnus van der Merwe, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, and Wilco Louw.

“The scrum sessions were very competitive, which was good, and the guys are ready for the weekend.

The Boks are fielding a revamped backline, but Kolisi believes it is not an inexperienced combination.

“A lot of people are saying we have gone for youngsters, but a lot of the guys have played here before, and some have won games here.

“(Apart from wing Ethan Hooker), we don’t have anyone with fewer than 10 caps. People are looking at it as if youngsters are being thrown in, but they’ve experienced this kind of level.

“It’s just that it looks new when you don’t see the regular names. Every person is getting an opportunity on tour, and they’re not just being thrown in to learn – we’re going into this game to win.”

Teams

New Zealand: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leroy Carter, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Simon Parker, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (captain), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Ethan de Groot. Replacements: 16 Brodie McAlister, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Fabian Holland, 20 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Quinn Tupaea, 23 Ruben Love.

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Andre Esterhuizen.

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)

Kick-off: 9.05am (SA time).