Patience and accuracy will be key for the Springboks if they want to beat Ireland in a winner-takes-all series decider at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
That was the warning Springbok head coach Allister Coetzee fired at his team today after their fighting come-from-behind 32-26 win in the second test in Johannesburg on Saturday.
“Any test match will be a battle of attrition and that is what we have to prepare ourselves for here in Port Elizabeth‚” Coetzee said.
It is expected that a capacity 43 000 crowd will watch the decider as new coach Coetzee and his captain Adriaan Strauss bid to start their era with a morale-boosting series win.
“It is never an easy game and you don’t get easy test matches. It has to be an approach to have the patience within our plan and to have good set pieces. We must also have patience within the kicking game.”
“We have seen the Irish score tries through some good kicks. We must make sure that we handle those kicks and our aerial skills should improve this week.
“The team need the patience to make good decisions and when it is on to have a go‚ we will have a go. We must make sure we have some good kicks in return to put the pressure back on them.”
Coetzee said he had some injury problems to consider going into Saturday’s showdown.
“Three players went for scans today. Trevor Nyakane (ankle)‚ Duane Vermeulen (elbow) and Warren Whiteley (shoulder). We are waiting for the results of those scans.
“I am very positive about Warren. I’m not sure about Duane and Trevor and we are waiting to hear from the specialists.”
Coetzee said the team would be working hard in the build-up to make sure they are ready for an all-out Irish assault.
“There are things that we need to iron out and get right. Things in terms of our detail that let us down. If you talk about our exits‚ we would score a try and get points. Then the return kick off onto us we would somehow stuff up there. Or we make a little bit of a system error. So we are keen to get it right in Port Elizabeth.”
“It is going to be very tight and close in the first half and we need to be a bit more accurate. Again‚ we conceded soft penalties in Johannesburg.”
Coetzee said the Boks’ contact skills would also be focused on thwarting the Irish threat of stripping the ball from their opponents.
Meanwhile‚ Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw will not be available for the third test after injuring knee cartilage in the second match.
Henshaw‚ who will need surgery‚ picked up the injury in the closing stages of the test at Ellis Park‚ where South Africa came from 16 points down to beat Ireland 32-26 to level the three-match series 1-1.
Ireland secured their first-ever win over the Springboks in South Africa on June 11 with a 26-20 victory at Newlands.
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt said he was unlikely to bring in a replacement as he has options within the squad to deal with the loss of the 23-year-old.
Allister Coetzee fires warning to his players ahead of the Boks' final Test against Ireland
That was the warning Springbok head coach Allister Coetzee fired at his team today after their fighting come-from-behind 32-26 win in the second test in Johannesburg on Saturday.
“Any test match will be a battle of attrition and that is what we have to prepare ourselves for here in Port Elizabeth‚” Coetzee said.
It is expected that a capacity 43 000 crowd will watch the decider as new coach Coetzee and his captain Adriaan Strauss bid to start their era with a morale-boosting series win.
“It is never an easy game and you don’t get easy test matches. It has to be an approach to have the patience within our plan and to have good set pieces. We must also have patience within the kicking game.”
“We have seen the Irish score tries through some good kicks. We must make sure that we handle those kicks and our aerial skills should improve this week.
“The team need the patience to make good decisions and when it is on to have a go‚ we will have a go. We must make sure we have some good kicks in return to put the pressure back on them.”
Coetzee said he had some injury problems to consider going into Saturday’s showdown.
“Three players went for scans today. Trevor Nyakane (ankle)‚ Duane Vermeulen (elbow) and Warren Whiteley (shoulder). We are waiting for the results of those scans.
“I am very positive about Warren. I’m not sure about Duane and Trevor and we are waiting to hear from the specialists.”
Coetzee said the team would be working hard in the build-up to make sure they are ready for an all-out Irish assault.
“There are things that we need to iron out and get right. Things in terms of our detail that let us down. If you talk about our exits‚ we would score a try and get points. Then the return kick off onto us we would somehow stuff up there. Or we make a little bit of a system error. So we are keen to get it right in Port Elizabeth.”
“It is going to be very tight and close in the first half and we need to be a bit more accurate. Again‚ we conceded soft penalties in Johannesburg.”
Coetzee said the Boks’ contact skills would also be focused on thwarting the Irish threat of stripping the ball from their opponents.
Meanwhile‚ Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw will not be available for the third test after injuring knee cartilage in the second match.
Henshaw‚ who will need surgery‚ picked up the injury in the closing stages of the test at Ellis Park‚ where South Africa came from 16 points down to beat Ireland 32-26 to level the three-match series 1-1.
Ireland secured their first-ever win over the Springboks in South Africa on June 11 with a 26-20 victory at Newlands.
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt said he was unlikely to bring in a replacement as he has options within the squad to deal with the loss of the 23-year-old.
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