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Boks look to past for lift

South Africa will be looking to the inspiration of the one-week turnaround it achieved on its 2008 tour to lift it to a victory over the All Blacks in the second Tri Nations Test at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.

Saturday, 17 July 2010

Sportal.co.nz

South Africa will be looking to the inspiration of the one-week turnaround it achieved on its 2008 tour to lift it to a victory over the All Blacks in the second Tri Nations Test at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.

While Smit didn't make the trip to Dunedin on that occasion, he said, the experiences of the players who took part in that win would be what would be utilised this time around.

"Watching that game, after the result here [in Wellington], it was pretty satisfying so I can only imagine that the guys on that trip would have had those memories of what can be done and what should be done if you apply yourself," he said.

Smit added that when you played away in the Tri Nations the pressure was always on the home side to win, and the aim of the visitor was to change that.

It was necessary to do what the side was good at, really well, for the full 80 minutes, he said.

"When you do that you give yourself the chance for the ball to bounce the right way."

Smit said it was a superb kick and chase by halfback Ricky Januarie that gave the game, the side's first win at Carisbrook, to the South Africans.

Sometimes those kicks didn't go your way and you had to force the situation through your own tactics and your own belief, he said.

Smit was confident his side could regain its physicality, it had to or it would never beat anyone, he said. But it was something that came from within and was not necessarily something measurable on the training field.

"We've got to hope that we have done the right things to make sure the guys have arrived upstairs," he said.

Smit didn't agree with the claims, allegedly emanating from the All Blacks' camp, that the South Africans were pursuing the wrong game plan under the new laws.

"It is still too early to tell. We've had a reasonable amount of success with the new laws in Super 14 and in the Tests played this year. I think it will be a time-telling factor where the answer will only be known in a year's time in the same place," he said.

Smit said there appeared to be a lot of interest in the brand of rugby being played but South Africa was more interested in playing the style that was necessary and which suited the players selected.

"It's one that would change depending on who we play, it's one we didn't execute very well last Saturday and hopefully we can do that better tomorrow," he said.

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