Boks tick World Cup boxes
Having gone down to the Pumas for the first time in Durban the week before, coach Heyneke Meyer's team bounced back well in Buenos Aires and picked up a 26-12 victory.
The visitors scored the only two tries of the match in the first half, with wings Bryan Habana and Lwazi Mvovo both dotting down, but the most encouraging aspect of their performance was the way they handled the hostile environment and did not give much away.
Meyer said that he was especially pleased with the way his team managed the game and executed the gameplan in what was a far more disciplined performance.
“This is a very harsh environment to play in and it’s very tough every time you come here.
“They were on a high after beating us last weekend and we were under pressure all week, but this is the type of game we can expect at the Rugby World Cup and I’m very proud of the players.
“I thought we played tactically very well. We came close against Australia and New Zealand, when we played more rugby, but we adapted tactically very well here.
“I’m also very proud that we didn’t concede a try, away from home. A lot of players put up their hands and came through today. We know our performance last week was not good enough, but today I’m very relieved and very proud," he said.
After getting worked over in the scrums at Kings Park the Boks were a lot more solid in that area, which Meyer put down to the experience they had on the bench.
“We also scrummed very well, which probably had to do with the fact that we had more experience on the bench.
“Although we didn’t finish all our try-scoring opportunities, this was a big step in right direction, but we also know that there is still a lot of very hard work that awaits," he added.
Meyer said that his focus is now on making sure his players are in the best possible shape heading into the World Cup.
“We will put in a couple of weeks of very hard training now and then cut back before the Rugby World Cup. With a number of top players coming back, I’m very positive and I know we will be able to pick a very strong squad,” he said.
Springbok captain Victor Matfield echoed Meyer’s sentiments, with the Rugby World Cup starting in five weeks’ time.
“We played much better than last week, but there were still a few mistakes out there and probably left two or three tries out there,” said Matfield.
“We were under a lot of pressure this week, which is what we can also expect at the Rugby World Cup. I think we will have a different vibe in the team in the next couple of weeks, which will be good for our preparations.
“Set-piece and defence are very important at World Cup and we did well in those aspects today. There are usually not a lot of tries, especially in the knock-out phase, and although we’re satisfied with the win today, we know there is work to be done.”
The squad will arrive back in South Africa on Monday morning and the players will enjoy a short break before getting together again in Durban on Thursday, where they will join the players currently on rehabilitation and conditioning programmes who remained in South Africa.
