THE SPRINGBOKS EARNED a crucial scrum penalty try last weekend but they werenโt satisfied with how the battle in that area of the first Test went against Ireland.
Hooker Bongi Mbonambi has called for a โfair contestโ at the scrum in the second Test, which will be refereed by Englishman Karl Dickson.
In the first Test, referee Luke Pearce awarded Ireland a free-kick at a first-half scrum after deciding the South Africans had engaged early.
Pearce upgraded to a penalty when he felt it had happened again in the second half but the Boks finished on top at scrum time, winning a key penalty in the 64th minute and then earning the penalty try in the 78th minute to seal their win.
Mbonambi voiced his frustrations about those early decisions against the Boks.
โIn the first half, we got frustrated because Ireland obviously looked to play a lot of tricks at scrum time, where we just want a fair competition, we want a fair contest at the scrum,โ said Mbonambi yesterday.
โItโs somewhere where we definitely have to learn, to train this week and learn our lessons from the previous game. The Bomb Squad did an amazing job and the penalty try was very satisfying for everyone. But thereโs a lot of improvement to be done when it comes to scrumming against them.โ
Ireland have lost first-choice hooker Dan Shehan to an ACL injury, with Rรณnan Kelleher set to replace him in the number two shirt and Mbonambi expects another set-piece tussle.
โWith the injuries, itโs part of the game, it happens,โ he said. โThe other hooker, Kelleher, heโs quite a good scrummager, heโs more physical, so itโs definitely not going to be easier.
โThey do have a top-class front row and just one injury in the pack doesnโt really make a difference. Weโre expecting a hard challenge when it comes to scrumming but weโll prepare ourselves and hopefully the scrum will get more rewards.โ
One of the other areas Mbonambi is keen to nail is the breakdown, where the Springboks gave up five turnovers to Ireland in the first Test.
The 33-year-old hooker said new defence coach Jerry Flannery has been key to helping the Boks understand what Ireland are keen to do at the breakdown.
โWith Jerry coming in, it has helped,โ said Mbonambi. โJerry and Duane [Vermeulen] have been trying to improve our breakdown skills. Jaco [Peyper] is also teaching us the laws.
โWeโre looking at things like, you know, when can we counter ruck? When is the ball out?
โObviously, we know that the Irish team is definitely going to come harder than they did at Loftus. I mean, they pride themselves at sort of shortening the rucks, getting to our nine and slowing down our ball. We saw how it impacted our play when they start getting on to Faf [de Klerk] and all that and shortening our rucks.
โWe have someone like Duane whoโs been doing it for years and he knows all the ground skills and also having Jaco Peyper teaching us the laws when youโre onside and when youโre offside.
โAnd also, Jerry is doing an awesome, fantastic job, teaching us exactly how the Irish players attack our rucks.โ
Some cheat.about time he is being exposed.
Who cares??? World economy in the shit, Israel and Iran about to push buttons, people dying and starving and they pick on lance, Iโm sorry but whatโs the big deal, the only way to live in this world is to be ON a shit load of drugs!!!
When you put it that way, I guess, โwho caresโ!
Who cares about anything?
Eh?
Chris, in the words of TD Simon Harris โChillaxโ. Yes the world is a little crazy, but I donโt think The Journal is going to stop reporting the whole spectrum of the news just because thereโs some other more serious stories out there!
Not much the doping or cycling federation (or whatever itโs called) can do about Iran, Israel, or world hunger or the global economy. Theyโre doing their job, so whatโs your problem? Not great logic in your comment.
โCheatStrongโ from now on?
i saw a picture of lance on his deathbed,drawn bald pale as a ghost,the next time i saw him,he was winning big cycling races,ffs come on people,yo dont come that close to dying from that disease and go on to be the greatest cyclist in the worlds hardest sport,KEEP IT REAL!
Heโs not the greatest if he achieved his victories by cheating
Not the greatest. Just the most successful tour rider of all time. Not the greatest though. Do you know anything about the exceptional athlete he was long before cycling?
Didnโt think so.
Read, educate & then respond with a comment.
Thank you
duhhhhhhh
Still waiting on proof.
Hark! Hark! Another ostrich.
Open your eyes and ears, Joe.
Lance is a disgrace and is nothing more than a junkie and drug dealer. The UCI is also a morally corrupt organisation and its a shame that it is run by an Irishman.
@joe here is some proof the following is from the usada โThe evidence of the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team-run scheme is overwhelming and is in excess of 1000 pages, and includes sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team (USPS Team) and its participantsโ doping activities. The evidence also includes direct documentary evidence including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and confirm the disappointing truth about the deceptive activities of the USPS Team, a team that received tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars in fundingโ
7 in a row , proof right there for god sake!!
Just shows you the lure of money and fame can corrupt most, probably justified it in his head that it was worth it to give him the platform his charity got. Was a massive fan but no sympathy for him now.
How strong was his arm after all the lancing?
haha! lol!
http://nyvelocity.com/content/features/2012/paul-kimmage-defense-fund
we donโt know what the most sophisticated doping operation ever is because itโs been sophisticated enough to thus far avoid exposure
Itโs a good job then that the USADA report said that this the most sophisticated one ever โseenโ.
a fair point my good man.
My more general point is that cycling has been forced to take anti-doping seriously. In most sports it amounts to little more than window dressing. We have no idea what lurks beneath the surface.
Considering the difficulty in finding a true clean winner in the field of cyclists that Arnstrong beat, it could be viewed as a level playing field as such that nearly all the athletes are doping to a degree.
Not saying its right but donโt think taking any performance enhancing substance made him immediately amazing, he still put in a hell of a lot of gruelling training.
We as consumers of sport demand so much of athletes that we do support the use of such performance enhancing drugs. We want to see world records beaten, bigger hits in contact sports. Look at baseball and barry bonds! I think the reward of taking something is too much of a draw for many, to be the best and get huge paychecks and contracts. Hard to not do it.
Only my opinions, feel free to disagree!
Nonsense, from start to finish.
โnearly all the athletes are doping to a degree.โ Unquantifiable but not beyond realm of possibility. What of the genuinely clean athletes though?
โhe still put in a hell of a lot of gruelling training.โ Of course. He also put in a lot of work with the best dope doctors around, made sure all his team doped and bullied any dissent into silence or banishment.
โwe do support the use of such performance enhancing drugsโ. Not me.
I understand youโre coming at it from a different angle but itโs ultimately a flawed stance.
Sweet mother of Jesus, what a post! Please tell me youโre taking the p*ss.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_udFWNqymfY
dopes