'We got near our goal': Springbok captain Kolisi defends game plan
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has backed his team’s game plan once again after they fell short in their Rugby Championship title bid.
New Zealand won the tournament for an eighth time on Saturday after rivals South Africa failed to secure a bonus point and a wide winning margin when beating Argentina 38-21 in Durban.
The Springboks needed a bonus point in the final match of the tournament and victory by at least 39 points to pip the All Blacks for first place.
Earlier on Saturday, New Zealand thrashed Australia 40-14 in Auckland for a bonus-point triumph that took them to 19 points in the six-round Championship.
“It’s always an honour to get a win against a team like Argentina.
“We had a plan and we got near our goal.
“It was going well [when leading 17-0] and we wanted to score again but they scored just before half-time and that set us back a little bit.
“They started well in the second half and then our discipline let us down at times and we had two yellow cards.
“The biggest thing [so far] from this season was that even in the games we lost we created so many chances.
“Our game plan is working but we just don’t take the opportunities.”
Kolisi believes the last few rounds of the Rugby Championship has helped his team build some momentum heading into their November tour.
“We had some great, great moments in the Rugby Championship, and we also had some weak moments,” said the captain.
“We were looking for consistency.
“We know we can win against anyone in the world on our day, but today was a big step forward because it was a third win in a row and we want to take that momentum with us into the end-of-year tour.”
The Springboks will face Ireland, France, Italy and England on consecutive Saturdays in November.
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I still see nothing in Sotutus play that hes changed his upright running style that failed so many times against decent international defences like the french. Other than that… Iose? Well you have covered his limitations well. If Sititi had been playing the the season… Jacobson? Grace?…Neither shout pick me. So Ardie it is.
Go to commentsThere isn’t one element you mentioned there that every top class or successful team gets up to. The great All blacks sides used to play on the ‘fringes or edge’ but it was essentially saying they were doing something illegal or borderline to gain dominance. The fine margins at the top are minute between the top sides. La Rochelle, the crusaders, Saracens, Toulon etc etc…..have all been accused. Get over it, the comment comes across as salty and naive. Northampton as well as they played to get back into the match were thoroughly beaten and controlled for 60 minutes and Leinster have only themselves to blame for kicking it away and hence losing control of the match and being nearly the architects of their own downfall.
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