RUGBY NEWS - The glass half empty approach would be for the Springboks to look at the six changes made by the Pumas for Saturday’s return Castle Lager Rugby Championship clash in Salta as a further indication that Salta could be much tougher for them than Port Elizabeth.
Argentina have been on the money in pinpointing the areas where they were let down last week. Three of the changes come in the tight five, with two new props and a new lock being charged with the task of overturning and avenging the Bok scrum domination that embarrassed the proud Pumas at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
There is a further change to the pack at No 8, where the formidable presence of Juan Manuel Leguizamon should strengthen the unit, while the starting halfbacks from last week, Martin Landajo and Nicholas Sanchez, have been jettisoned to the bench and replaced by Tomas Cubelli and Juan Martin Hernandez respectively.
There have been plenty of instances through rugby history where teams have corrected in a week and then give it to their opponents in the return clash with some interest. If the Pumas suddenly find their scrumming mojo in Salta and this time it is the Boks that find themselves pressured in that phase and maybe even dominated, it would certainly not be unprecedented.
The Pumas management made no secret after last week’s game of their unhappiness with the way that French referee Romain Poite had refereed the set scrums. There is a different French referee in the form of Pascal Gauzere taking charge this time and you can be sure that he would have had the Argentinians in his ear this week on what to look out and how to do his job.
A lot on Saturday could depend on how he reacts to the Puma attempts to pressure him. If he reacts in a way that takes away some of the Bok edge and advantages Argentina, then it will be a different game to Port Elizabeth.
Fortunately the Boks did have the experience in the last test against France of not everything going their way and they got through it, but it will be a tough night for them if they are forced to go through the game without their strong forward foundation, and maybe have it reversed.
Already there was enough talk before they departed Port Elizabeth earlier this week about the smaller field dimensions and the different challenge faced by having a partisan crowd firmly supporting the opposition team.
By the time they left, however, it seemed they’d had enough of that talk and Jaco Kriel was quite emphatic with his view that professional rugby players have to have the mental toughness to overcome all challenges and obstacles and not let them deflect you from your purpose.
And that is the thing about this Bok team. They are better coached and organised than they were last year, they are in a mental space light years different to where they were in 2016 and they are much better prepared for all eventualities than they were.
They won’t be taking the glass half empty approach but the glass half full which means they will see this game for what it is – an opportunity to go into the critical Australasian leg of the competition with a bigger platform and greater confidence than has been the case for them in this competition for several years.
Port Elizabeth was their most comprehensive win over these opponents in a while, and it is a long time since they last looked so significantly better than the Pumas. It won’t be easy, the Pumas will be better and the Boks will have to be improved too.
But it is an opportunit y for them to really confirm their resurgence and set up the tour to Australasia and from what we have seen so far the Class of 2017 should be both hungry enough and composed enough to grab it.
