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'How can I say this the right way?': Bok prop addresses Wallabies' gamesmanship
By Ben Smith
Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff played it coy when asked about the gamesmanship on show by the Wallabies in their 25-17 win in Adelaide.
The referees deemed it necessary to yellow card scrumhalf Faf de Klerk for a swinging arm after Nic White fell to the ground in dramatic fashion.
Another sore talking point was the Wallabies tackling and use of force around the breakdown which South African media and fans took exception too.
Kitshoff said the Springboks aren’t looking for ‘shortcuts’ and want to play the game within the laws.
“How can I say this the right way? We want to play the game inside the law book, with as much aggression, power, and speed as possible,” Kitshoff told media.
“We never look for shortcuts in any way.
“When games are played, you are trying to get the upper hand as much as possible.
“It all comes down to the referee’s interpretation and the way the ARs [assistant referees] are seeing the game.
“I don’t want to comment on them getting away with certain tricks or tactics.
“We just want to play a great Test match.”
The 62-test veteran wanted to persist with the set-piece centric game plan despite the maul not firing in Adelaide.
They were able to draw a number of infringements from the Wallabies to play advantage from but weren’t able to capitalise on those opportunities.
“The big thing for us with mauls is that it is creating a platform to either strike from, kick from or gain points,” he said.
“Looking back at this weekend’s game, even though the maul didn’t get a lot of momentum, we still got six penalty advantages that we could play from.
“In my opinion, I still feel the maul is a big weapon and a big part of the fundamentals of rugby.
“Even though it doesn’t look like you are gaining 10 to 20 metres, you are still actually creating an opportunity to score three points or getting a free play under a penalty advantage.”
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Latest Comments
Recent complaints that SA players have a 12-month workload isn't of itself a credible enough excuse to lay at the door of EPCR administrators. If SA clubs want to participate in NH league and club competitions and also participate in SH internationals, then clearly something has to give.
From the EPCR perspective, I do think that the format/schedule issues can be fixed if there's a strong enough desire to remove some of the logistical challenges clubs are facing with these long and frequent trips across the hemispheres.
From the SA player workload perspective however, I'm not sure how players can participate safely and competitively at both the club and international levels. Perhaps - and as Rassie appears to be developing, SA develop a super squad with sufficient player numbers and rotation to allow players to compete across the full 12-month calendar.
Bottom line though, is the geographical isolation is always going to restrict SA's ability to having the best of both worlds.
Go to commentsMoriaty refused to play for wales also he’s injured, France’s is being coy about wales, North in the dark but Sam David and jerad are you joking their not good enough
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