Kolisi proud of new Boks, SA A for thrilling day of rugby in Gqeberha
· Citizen
New players in the Springbok line-up, and the whole SA A team, did South Africa proud in a thrilling day of rugby at Nelson Mandela Stadium on Saturday, said Bok captain Siya Kolisi.
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A young SA A side whitewashed Zimbabwe 40-0 in their friendly before the Springboks overcame a tight middle period to score four unanswered tries in the final quarter of their game against the Barbarians, winning the 17-try thriller 80-31.
‘Happy with the win’
“The game could have gone much better but we are happy with the win,” Kolisi said afterwards.
“Our kicking game is going well and we won the scraps. Then we started not making tackles the first time and letting them get off-loads away. That got them into the game.
“I know they have only been together for a week but that’s how they are coached: to get the ball away. Then they got the upper hand a bit in the first half.”
The Springbok captain said he was happy for Riley Norton, Paul de Villiers, Carlu Sadie, Vusi Moyo and JJ Kotze, who represented the team for the first time, while the way the SA A team played was “very special”.
“The most important thing is the squad depth and the competition amongst each other, to make sure that we can keep going forward and if someone falls the next guy comes in.”
Van der Merwe lauds Springbok cohesion
Bok wing Edwill van der Merwe earned man of the match for a hat-trick, though he would have scored a fourth try if it wasn’t disallowed for an earlier high tackle.
“Every opportunity I get I want to grab with both hands,” Van der Merwe said.
He added that he was proud of how the team stuck to their structures, not allowing the game to become loose for long periods.
“There will always be things for us to work on but hopefully [the coaches] are happy with tonight.”
Barbarians captain TJ Perenara said they were in the game for a while, fighting from 35-7 down to 40-26, where the score remained for much of the game until the Bok bench helped the hosts extend their lead.
“We played some Barbarians rugby that we are really proud of,” Perenara said.
“We couldn’t keep it up at the back end of the second half, unfortunately.
“It’s the quality of the South African team. They are very good in the set-piece, scrum and maul, and they showed why they are currently number one in the world.”