Veteran forward Franco Mostert said the Springboks must deliver a top performance against a “stronger” Ireland outfit on Saturday to clinch a series victory in Durban.
The two-time Bok world champion singled out the breakdowns and mauls as areas the Boks particularly needed to step up in when the teams clash at Kings Park.
The Boks won 27-20 at Loftus Versfeld – South Africa’s first victory over Ireland since 2016 – and will be hunting their second win a row this weekend, and Mostert agreed with this teammates and coaches that it would take another massive effort from the team.
“We certainly don’t think the win last week was a case of getting the monkey off our back,” said Mostert.
“They are feeling exactly the way we did in the Rugby World Cup, and we saw during the British & Irish Lions tour in 2021 what that first defeat did for us. So, they’ll come back stronger, and it’s going to be a good test for us.”
Zooming into the game, Mostert expected another massive forward battle: “They did a good job last week at stopping our mauls and they are a team that generally don’t concede a lot of maul tries. So, hopefully we can come up with a few plans this weekend.
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“At the breakdowns they put Faf [de Klerk] and Grant [Williams] under pressure, so as a team we have to do improve in that area as well this weekend.”
Mostert, who can play lock and flanker, was chuffed with the impact the Bomb Squad made in Pretoria – especially the pushover scrum which earned the Boks a penalty try.
“I get goosebumps when I think about that. Coach Daan [Human, scrum coach] puts a lot of hard work in to get the scrums to function well, and it’s great to see the rewards.”
As one of the stalwarts in the squad with 75 caps under his belt, Mostert said while it would be fantastic to keep running out in the green and gold, he was realistic about his position in the squad as Rassie Erasmus starts building his squad for Australia 2027.
“Each player has their own personal goals, and personally I plan to take it year by year,” he said. “As long as my body can handle it, I’ll play until I’m no longer selected. But playing in three World Cups would be very special.”
Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
