JOHANNESBURG: Forwards coach Johann van Graan believes South Africa’s pack will need to replicate their performance from the last match if they are to beat Australia in their Rugby Championship match in Pretoria on Saturday.
The Springboks forward dominated New Zealand in Dunedin on Sept. 15, but their effort was wasted by some woeful profligacy with the boot as 20 points went begging in the 21-11 loss.
“We’ve worked hard the last few weeks and the front row gave one of their best performances and the loose forward got stuck in as well,” Van Graan told reporters on Tuesday.
“We can improve on the lineout, where we lost a couple of balls, but the kick-offs were good and so was the ball retention — we had our lowest turnover rate of the whole year.
“I’m really proud of the performance against the All Blacks, we played some of our best rugby and to have 58 percent territory and 52 percent possession against them at home is a great effort.
“Unfortunately, we just didn’t get the points.”
However, Van Graan warned that the Nathan Sharpe-led Wallabies would provide another major challenge to his forward, much as Australia did when they beat the Springboks 26-19 in Perth on Sept. 8.
“Australia scrummed very well against us and Nathan Sharpe is one of the best locks of all time, so their lineout is tricky and they kick to different places to put you under pressure,” the assistant coach added.
“Playing against the number two side in the world is always a massive challenge.”
Experienced tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis said that while New Zealand were a daunting physical prospect in the scrums, the Wallabies relied more on intelligence and strategy.
“The All Blacks view scrums in the same way we do, as a place to exert physical dominance over the opposition. The Wallabies are much more tactical, they know what they want from certain areas of the field,” he said.
“So it’s a big challenge against them, they have a great loosehead in Benn Robinson and he scrums well with Tatafu Polota-Nau, they’re both short and stocky.”
Du Plessis played down the youthful nature of the Springboks pack in Dunedin, in which only he and fellow prop Tendai Mtawarira have more than 30 caps, saying that the inexperience helped create a never-say-die attitude.
“There are some advantages to inexperience, because those players are hungry and will play better than someone who has played a hundred tests and has a ‘been there, done that’ approach. As they say, ‘a hungry dog hunts best’,” he said.
Van Graan said it was important the Springboks showed an improvement in Pretoria and took another step forward in their progress.
“You can always improve and evolve and we started with the base, it’s about finding your feet at this level,” he said
“But we’ve grown a lot, there’s been a lot of progression, our ball-retention and contesting on the ground is much better.
“You evolve step-by-step and we hope we take another step on Saturday. Hopefully, we can go from a good performance to a great winning performance,” Van Graan added.
The assistant coach also highlighted the need for better defense against the attack-minded Australians.
“The Wallabies are a big threat, especially with their reverse attacking lines, Digby Ioane and Dom Shipperley in particular. We will have to improve our defense and hope our kicking game is spot on.”
South Africa will name their team on Wednesday.
Springboks seek to overpower Wallabies
Springboks seek to overpower Wallabies
Liverpool rocked by last-gasp defeat at Wolves
- Liverpool’s first defeat in five games in all competitions will raise fresh questions about Slot’s Anfield future
LONDON: Liverpool suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolves as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the Premier League’s bottom club on Tuesday.
Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux.
Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November.
But Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool.
It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017.
Liverpool have conceded 14 goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half, with only Newcastle shipping more in the same period in the Premier League.
The Reds remain fifth but their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League have been hurt by a defeat that means sixth-placed Chelsea will go above them if they beat Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Liverpool’s first defeat in five games in all competitions will raise fresh questions about Slot’s Anfield future.
This was the first of Liverpool’s two trips to Molineux in the space of four days, with an immediate chance for revenge in the FA Cup fifth round on Friday.
Slot this week said he no longer finds Premier League matches a “joy to watch” due to the rise in set-piece goals, and Liverpool supporters took no pleasure from this dismal performance.
Wolves and Liverpool fans joined in a sustained round of applause on 18 minutes in memory of Diogo Jota, who wore that shirt number during his time at Molineux before joining the Reds.
Portugal forward Jota died in a car crash in Spain last year.
Crest-fallen Slot
That emotional tribute seemed to suck the energy from both teams in a scrappy first half.
Liverpool were punished for their lethargy in the 78th minute.
Tolu Arokodare got away with a nudge on Virgil van Dijk to win the ball before playing a superb pass to Rodrigo Gomes, who held off Ibrahima Konate and guided a clinical finish past Alisson Becker.
Liverpool finally awoke from their slumber after that shock, grabbing an equalizer in the 83rd minute with a helping hand from Wolves.
Wolves midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was guilty of a woeful pass that Salah intercepted, racing into the area for a shot that eluded Jose Sa’s weak attempted save.
Salah has scored just eight goals — five in the league — during a turbulent season.
Liverpool were still creaky at the back and Andre pounced on Alisson’s poor clearance four minutes to steal the points in stoppage-time.
Andre’s powerful strike deflected off Liverpool defender Joe Gomez and looped over the wrong-footed Alisson as Wolves boss Rob Edwards sprinted down the touchline in a wild celebration while Slot looked on crestfallen.
Wolves are 11 points from safety with eight games left and relegation remains almost certain despite this memorable victory.
Everton ended their dismal home form and pushed Burnley closer to relegation with a 2-0 win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Buoyed by their 3-2 win at Newcastle last weekend, Everton dispatched second-bottom Burnley with their first win in eight home league matches.
Former Burnley defender James Tarkowski put Everton in front with a powerful header from James Garner’s 32nd minute free-kick.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall doubled Everton’s advantage on the hour taking Iliman Ndiaye’s pass and clipping a composed finish past Martin Dubravka from six yards.
Everton remain in contention for a European berth, while Burnley are eight points from safety with just nine games left.
Habib Diarra’s penalty fired Sunderland to a 1-0 victory against Leeds on their first Premier League visit to Elland Road since 2002.
Bournemouth and Brentford shared a goalless draw at the Vitality Stadium that did little to improve either side’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.
