IT IS HARD to know whether to trust South Africa backs coach Ricardo Loubscher when he says that his charges have all been working on their kicking rigorously ahead of their clash with Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
Sure, South Africa still employ a kicking game to an extent but over the last two seasons they have been content to counter from deep with the ball in hand and seem to have a new run-first philosophy.
But despite the Springboks increased focus on running the ball, Loubscher says that conditions might force them to use the boot more.
“All of our nines, all our tens and all of our fifteens have been working on their kicking games,” Loubscher said.
“It is all about accuracy and playing the situation you are in. That is the focus for us.
“The conditions will play a big part. A key focus will be our game management and hopefully we can get it right this Saturday. In the Rugby Championship we played a lot of games in the wet so it won’t be new to us.”
At the 2011 World Cup, South Africa had a lot of possession but couldn’t breach Australia’s tryline as they were narrowly defeated in the quarter-final. Since Heyneke Meyer took over the side in 2012 they have gradually introduced more attacking options to the side – so much so that they were able to blitz Australia with three late five-pointers in this year’s Rugby Championship.
Loubscher says that the coaching staff had always planned to implement an expansive game plan but are also wary about trying to play too much rugby in poor conditions.
“It was always our plan to play that style,” Loubscher said.
“If you go back to the Rugby Championship it was difficult to play that style in the games we played in the wet. But when we got back home and the conditions were great we were happy with the performances. There are still areas that we can improve on.”
Ireland will be pretty big underdogs for Saturday’s game as they take on a team, who along with the All Blacks, are a level above every other nation at the moment. Loubscher praised the work Joe Schmidt has done with Ireland and spoke of the tough challenge facing his side at the Aviva Stadium.
“They are a well-balanced side with world class coaches who are very astute,” Loubscher said.
“They have a great skill set. It is going to be a great challenge for us on Saturday. In the 6 Nations they kept the ball very well and they have a great defensive record. The biggest thing is adapting to the conditions and playing to your strengths.”
The emergence of 20-year old Handré Pollard at out-half in the latter stages of the Rugby Championship has the South African rugby public salivating over his playmaking ability. Pollard had his BOD-in-Paris moment in South Africa’s recent win over the All Blacks, bagging two tries, and Loubscher is thrilled at the potential he has shown in the last few games.
“It took him a little while to adapt to the conditions and playing at this level,” Pollard said.
“He is great with the ball in hand and has a great kicking game. He has a different skill set and that is something I love as a coach.”
The recent form of South Africa – and the manner with which they’ve been overwhelming teams – has made everyone in world rugby sit up and take notice but Loubscher says nobody involved with the team is getting carried away.
Ominously for Ireland, they are treating this tour as the start of a big year that doesn’t stop ’til the World Cup.
“We want to start from zero on this tour,” Loubscher said.
“It is all about getting those little 1% things right. Our handling and decision making need to be right. From a backline point of view, it is great to have so much strength in depth.
“I am very happy with how the backline has trained over the last week and a half. Pat [Lambie] made a huge impact off the bench and that is exactly what I expect from the guys off the bench.”
