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Pollard: The job is only half-done

The Springboks, who topped World Cup's Pool B after their demolition of a United States second-string selection earlier this week, have been given four days off – before they start their preparation on Monday for the quarterfinals next Saturday.

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They will now face the losers of Saturday's Pool A clash between Australia and Wales in their October 17 quarterfinal at the same venue – Twickenham.

While the Boks will have extra time for recovery and analyses, they are well aware that the real work starts next week.

"We have reached our first goal," Bok flyhalf Handré Pollard said, adding: "But only half of the job is done.

"It is the business end of the competition now," the 21-year-old said.

He described the Boks' start to the tournament – a loss to Japan in the opening round – as "scrappy".

"However, we have come through and have played some good rugby to get into the play-offs," he said of the victories over Samoa, Scotland and the United States.

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"We are in a good space, confident and ready to go."

Coach Heyneke Meyer and assistant John McFarland spoke of the importance of defence in the remainder of the competition.

Meyer said the most pleasing aspect for him since the loss to Japan is that his team conceded only one try in the last three matches – the intercept to Scotland.

"We know that defence wins World Cups and I am very happy with our defence," he said of the shut-outs against Samoan (a 46-6 win) and the United States (64-0).

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"Our defence has been the big difference [in the last three weeks].

"The defence of youngsters like Handré [Pollard], Damian [de Allende] and Jesse [Kriel], as well as the two locks [Lodewyk de Jager and Eben Etzebeth] has been one of the best signs."

Meyer felt his team will be up for whomever they get in the quarterfinals.

"We were so close in the Rugby Championship, where we lost to Australia and New Zealand right at the end," he said, adding: "We have learned from that.

"Knock-out rugby is about discipline and defence. We will also have to be more clinical and use every single opportunity.

"After the Japan game we made slight changes to the game plan and went back to what suits us .

"It's going to be cracker of a game [the quarterfinal].Pollard: The job is only half-done

"It doesn't matter what went before or after, but it depends what happens on the day."

McFarland said he was also "very happy" with the players' efforts on defence since the loss to Japan.

"We were in a very dark space after Japan," the defence coordinator said, adding: "There was a lot of pressure on to get out of it and defend.

"What was impressive was not just their workrate, but the desire to smash teams back in the tackle."

He said the structure and system on defence has remained the same.

"Since then [the loss to Japan] we have refocused, looked at everything and we made a commitment to each other and the nation that we would improve.

"We've had three very challenging hard weeks, mentally, in terms of the pressure to perform."

@rugby365com

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