The Springboks produced their most dominant performance against the All Blacks in recent memory to record their first victory against the visitors on home soil in eight years.
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi in action against the All Blacks in their Rugby Championship match at the Mbombela Stadium on 6 August 2022. Picture: @Springboks/Twitter
JOHANNESBURG – Springbok captain Siya Kolisi hailed his team’s discipline in their 26-10 victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.
The world champions overwhelmed the All Blacks with intensity from the start and Kolisi thinks that was the key to their win.
The Springboks produced their most dominant performance against the All Blacks in recent memory to record their first victory against the visitors on home soil in eight years.
“I think we had good discipline and we stuck to what we wanted to do,” Kolisi said.
The results also consigned the New Zealanders to their third consecutive defeat for the first time in 24 years and their fifth in the last six matches they’ve played.
The Boks were intent on setting a positive tone from the start and flew into tackles from the first whistle. There was a worry as scrumhalf Faf De Klerk came off second best in the first minute when he collided with winger Caleb Clarke and suffered a nasty-looking injury that ruled him out of the rest of the match.
Kolisi’s men kept their tactics despite losing a vital cog in the team, with replacement number 9, Jaden Hendrikse, proving to be a capable deputy in just his fourth Test appearance.
“We stuck to our plan and the biggest thing was making sure we get to the contestable kicks. If they get the ball, we know they have so many game breakers in the team, we had to be disciplined enough to close their opportunities,” the captain said.
Bok coach Jacques Nienaber echoed Kolisi’s sentiments and was pleased with the way they carried out their objectives.
“All we could do is pitch up with intensity and try and be accurate with what we planned. I thought we did that well and that’s the summary of the game – we had good intensity and I thought we executed our plan,” Nienaber said.
The two sides head to Johannesburg for the second Rugby Championship Test at Ellis Park and Kolisi and his charges refuse to get carried away by their win.
“We know the job is not done yet. We’ve still got five more games to go and the next important part is next week,” Kolisi said.
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