Boks ready to play rough

2008-07-31 22:09

Liam Del Carme

Pretoria - If the Springboks have to be rough at breakdown points to provide shape to their new style of rugby they have to do what is necessary, says coach Peter de Villiers.

Australia should therefore expect a huge onslaught in contact situations when they play the South Africans in Tri-Nations matches in Durban and Johannesburg later this month.

The Springboks were severely curbed in this department when they played the Wallabies in Perth recently.

However, De Villiers said here on Thursday it was the execution, not the plan, that needed attention.

Last weekend's match between Australia and New Zealand was a good pointer, he said.

The style that he promotes is aimed at having ball carriers available at all times to finish moves.

"If you look at the way the All Blacks committed too many players to the breakdown points last weekend, I think were are on the right road," he explained.

"It gave the Wallabies the opportunity to take the ball wide because there were not enough opponents to stop them."

The new style demanded that a team should not to allow too many players to get involved at breakdown points, he added.

This is easier said than done, because the Wallabies gave the Springboks a hard time in contact situations in Perth.

De Villiers later expressed strong feelings about the application of the laws.

"If that is the way the new laws are applied, it is much easier to play this way," he said.

"Players are not permitted to play the ball on the ground and to fall over the ball in rucks. It should not happen.

"When we played the Wallabies, things did not quite work out that way because we were unable to get the ball from second-phase play."

- Beeld