The Springboks are determined to bounce back strongly against Portugal on Saturday in the final Test before the Rugby Championship starts next month.
After losing the second and final Test against Ireland at the weekend, the Boks want that winning momentum back as they look to continue building this season. It’s a historic first clash between the two sides at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein (kick-off 5pm) and tickets are sold out.
Deon Davids, Springbok assistant coach, said they expect the Portuguese to come out firing in one of the biggest tests in their history against the world champions. A slow start in Durban in the first half contributed to the Boks’ downfall through a last-gasp drop goal, but according to Davids, they are set on returning to their standards on Saturday.
Bok mentor Rassie Erasmus indicated earlier that they will have some debutants in the side, while also looking to give some fringe players more game time. Apart from getting the desired results on Saturday, the Boks are also building depth looking at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
“Having looked back at our performance last week, we need to be more focused going into this game and play the quality of rugby we want to play,” Davids said.
“As a team, we pride ourselves on the standards we’ve set and on our respect for the opposition, no matter which team we face. Portugal beat Fiji in the World Cup, so they are no pushovers.
“They like to move the ball around a lot and their head coach (Simon Mannix) has a New Zealand background, which says a lot about the way they want to play. It will be important to keep them at bay, to dominate on attack and defence, and deny them momentum. We want to play the match on our terms.”
The Springboks couldn’t impose their game plan on Ireland, especially in the second match, and failed to score any tries in the clash. They will want to make up for that.
Although the scrums have been going well, the Boks lost a couple of line-outs and were unable to get their rolling maul going against Ireland, and these are some of the areas they will want to fix against their Tier-2 opponents.
If South Africa get this right, alongside their physical dominance and the running game they want to play, it could be a long day for the visitors in the City of Roses. But Davids warned that Portugal will be highly motivated to show they can play well and perform at this level.
“They certainly won’t need more motivation, knowing that they will be facing the world champions. They also have a good support base in Bloemfontein and will want to make the most of the occasion of playing in front of a sold-out stadium, so it’s going to be a good test for both teams.
“They beat Namibia on Saturday, who have a good coaching team, so it won’t be a case of us pitching up and winning the match. We have to deliver a quality performance and give our best for the full 80 minutes.”
Erasmus will name his matchday squad this morning and will release a host of other players for some much-needed rest and recovery ahead of the Rugby Championship. Davids explained that they are looking to strike a fine balance in terms of team selection this weekend.
“We have a clear strategy about where we are as a team now and what we need to do going forward, so there are two key factors for us this week, and those are managing the players and building squad depth.
“It’s a long and tough season, so we must manage the players effectively, but we also want to build squad depth for the future, so we’ll probably try to balance those aspects as well as possible this week.”