There has been a lot of talk both in the buildup to the current two match series between the Springboks and Ireland and during it about which team can claim to be the best in the world, but for Mzwandile Sitck there is no argument to be had because it has long since been settled.
“That argument was sorted out last year when we won the World Cup,” said the Springbok assistant coach on the eve of Saturday’s second Test at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.
“Whatever happens on Saturday, and I know a team like Ireland are definitely one of the best, win or lose we are still the world champions. Yes, we want to win, but if we don’t that doesn’t change the fact that for the next four years we will be the world champions.
“We know we can’t control or worry about what other people think, but what I do know is that plus minus 60-million South Africans know who the best team in the world is. Whatever may be said on the other side, that is okay. We have respect for other views. And maybe between World Cups we might have different goals to the other teams’ goals.
“We put a lot of emphasis on building depth and giving opportunities to players. If someone wants to win 18 in a row and that is their goal, then that is up to them. But what I know is that for the next four years the best team in the world is South Africa because we are the world champions.”
The most experienced Springbok match-day squad in history 🇿🇦✨ pic.twitter.com/hNS2ETeO9N
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 12, 2024
KOLISI BORED WITH COMPLAINTS ABOUT BOMB SQUAD
There has been a lot of noise around the series and the usual trend of people finding something in the Boks to criticise, complain about and make excuses around was sustained through former Scotland coach Matt Williams’ slamming South Africa’s use of a six/two split between forwards and backs on the bench.
When asked about it in the captain’s press conference on the eve of the game, Bok captain Siya Kolisi treated a question around the criticism with a similar figurative shrug of the shoulders as coach Rassie Erasmus did when asked the same question earlier in the week.
It happens so often that it has become something that is almost expected, although Kolisi does seem a bit bemused about the constant focus from outside on what the Boks do.
“It happens so much that we just don’t care. If you look at the rule book you will see that none of the stuff we do breaks any rules,” said the two time World Cup winning captain, who became almost uncharacteristically indignant as he went deeper into his answer.
“You never hear us speaking about other teams tactics, the focus is always only us and what works for this team. It is all about what we need to do on Saturday. It is always related to the teams we are playing. The coaches explain to us what they want, and we understand the selection around that.
“We don’t know why people always want to talk about what we do, because we don’t talk about them. But it is fine for us. We just focus on what we do and if it doesn't work we change it. We don’t worry about it. And anyway if we are strengthening in a certain area on the bench surely that is a compliment to the opposition as we are letting them know that is where we think they are strong.
“It is all about what we need on a given day. Sometimes it is a case of me knowing I can only go a certain number of minutes. It is not always about us wanting to have less backs (or more forwards),” he added.
NO COMPLAINTS FROM IRELAND
And as Stick reminded the press conference, it is not as if Ireland are complaining about the Bok bench selection or the way that bench is deployed - Williams’s concern was with all six forwards coming on at the same time - and he says there is utmost respect between the two teams.
“Ireland used a six/two split on a few occasions during the Six Nations. If it works for you and is within the rules of the game, then why not, and people in South Africa appear to enjoy it when the bomb squad comes on,” said Stick.
“On a day if we want to go with a seven/one split, because the situation demands it, we will go with that. You may find though that it starts to change now, because we have made adaptations to our game that will entail the backs running a lot more metres in a game than they have in the past. So you may find us going five/three at certain points, it is all geared towards the needs and the specific challenges on a given day and against given opponents.
“We play according to the rules and no-one can tell me we don’t play in a good spirit. There is good respect between us and Ireland, not just between the players but also the members of the respective coaching staffs. We have respect for what each other can do, and they used the six/two split in the Six Nations, so we don’t want to pay any attention to the noise around this issue.”
HOSTS NOT LOOKING BEYOND SATURDAY
Head coach Erasmus is likely to change up his squad for next weekend’s game against Portugal and there may be some freshening up of the team in some of the games that follow it Kolisi said that his team were not focusing on anything beyond Saturday’s game.
“We want to win tomorrow, it is not 1-all, it is 1-0, and we just want to win the series because that is important to us as a group as this goes back to 2016 for us (against Ireland),” said Kolisi.
“We are just thinking about tomorrow, as a group. We want to use our opportunities to ensure everything stays as it is. This is the most important game for us, and we know how important it is for Ireland too. This is the last game of the season for them. They will throw everything at it. So will we. We are not thinking about what comes after this.”
Kolisi: “We know how important this match is for both teams” - more here: https://t.co/ieMahQbdZX 🗣#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/vwGwtiWYX1
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 12, 2024