Rassie confident Boks can go all the way

A few tweaks, particularly to the mental focus, may be necessary but Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus will head into the final fortnight of Rugby World Cup 2019 confident of his team’s ability to lift the most prized trophy in the sport.

Erasmus was reluctant after the 26-3 win over Japan in Sunday’s quarterfinal to say exactly how much the Boks need to improve in order to win the World Cup for the third time, and preferred to say that the battle from here might be more mental, in the sense that the players need to be switched on for an entire 80 minutes, than it will be physical.

While he was happy with the overall performance against Japan, particularly the way that his team composed themselves and refocused after a difficult first half, Erasmus felt that there were still too many soft moments and occasions when the players lost concentration. He knows that won’t do against the teams that lie in their path to glory, starting with Wales in the semifinal in Yokohama on Sunday.

"What we need to do varies, but if you look at how New Zealand dismantled Ireland, and how they scored points so quickly against us, I think it was two tries in four minutes that took them to 17-3 and then it was mostly us who scored the points after that, then you realise how important it is to ensure you just don’t give away soft moments," said Erasmus.

"We need to find the pressure points and utilise them, we need to win the big moments. We need to be consistent across the full 80 minutes. That is the biggest work-on for us at the moment. We do have the pack and the backline players to go all the way.

“But you can’t have 38 minutes of ball in play and have four minutes where you drop concentration and focus. It happened again against Japan and we nearly got caught out. There is nothing specific we need to work on, we just have to concentrate for a full 80 minutes and not give things away. That’s what we need to do."

GREAT DEFENSIVE EFFORT

Ironically, the one act that nearly gave it away for the Boks on Sunday was Beast Mtawarira’s tackle that earned him a yellow card and 10 minutes in the bin. It could so easily have gone pear-shaped for the Boks from there as Japan, with their all-action attacking style, are not a team you can afford to play against with 14 men.

Why that is ironic though is because that was a period where the Bok focus and willingness to dig deep and keep their opponents out was particularly laudable. It earned praise from opposition coach Jamie Joseph afterwards. Joseph said that the Boks did really well to prevent his team from scoring a try during that period, that the Bok scramble defence had been excellent, and it was a great opportunity missed by his team.

In a way, the fact that Japan were so plucky and pushed them so hard in that first half was just what the Boks needed before their semifinal against fellow tier one team, Wales. The games subsequent to the loss to the All Blacks four weeks ago have been easy wins for the Boks and they hadn’t been pushed since the tournament opener.

Although their defensive stats were outstanding going into the Japan game, with just three tries conceded across four matches, they arguably hadn’t had their defence properly tested since Yokohama.

But Japan brought their full set of tricks, and threw everything at the Boks in their attempt to draw the South Africans into playing the game at their quick tempo. The fact the Boks were able to hold out Japan in that period, when the hosts had plenty of ball to play with, was what most pleased the Bok coach afterwards.

"We have conceded three tries in this World Cup, and two of those were scored by New Zealand in the space of just two minutes," said Erasmus.

"But there haven’t been long spells when we have been under pressure defensively. Defence is a very important thing, and we were properly tested today. Japan asked us a lot of questions and I was happy with the way we responded. Japan have proved at this World Cup just what a good attacking team they are, but if you look at our stats across the two games we played against them, starting with the warm-up game, they are impressive.

"To concede just 10 points, which was one try and a penalty, across 160 minutes, or two games, against them is a sign of a good defence and that gives us confidence. The pace of the game was good for us (in terms of what is to come, particularly a possible final against New Zealand). We need to get used to that.

"It was also good that they tested our nerve. We were very nervous at halftime. That’s also a good experience in preparation for future playoff games. Wales had a similar experience (in their quarterfinal against France) so next week is really going to be a great match up."

BOKS NEED TO BE MORE COMPOSED IN THE ATTACK ZONE

Erasmus knows though that there are improvements that need to be made, and in particular he singled out the finishing and what he perceived as a lack of composure when the Boks were in the attack zone.

"We made a mess of it too often when we were in the attack zone, I counted five occasions when we created clear opportunities and messed them up, or when we had balls turned over or made silly errors that cost us possession when inside the Japan 22. Against a team like Wales you just can’t afford that. You need to make every one count and convert your opportunities."

Of course, the worrying thing there was that it was a similar refrain coming from the Bok coaching staff after the loss to the All Blacks.

Another thing that the Boks might be concerned about which was similar to Yokohama is Handre Pollard’s place-kicking.

The flyhalf was solid in general play and to be fair, the two conversions he missed were from acute angles, meaning the tries scored in both halves out wide by Makazole Mapimpi. However, he missed a regulation penalty kick in the second half, as he did at a critical point of the first half against the All Blacks, something that was afterwards seen as one of the big moments of the game.

England’s Owen Farrell hardly misses a kick and Richie Mo’unga’s stats are also up for the All Blacks - they’ve made a good decision to take the responsibility away from Beauden Barrett - and misses could come back to haunt the Boks in tight games, which the semifinal and final could well be. France bowed out of the World Cup on Sunday because of missed kicks.

LE ROUX'S FORM IS PROBLEMATIC

It almost goes without saying that another area of concern for Erasmus should be the form of Willie le Roux. The fullback looked like he might be a bit concussed after hitting his head early in the game and at the very least the shock of that impact might have effected his all-round game. But he looks low on confidence and made too many elementary errors that could cost the Boks going forward.

It is not as easy though as Erasmus just dropping Le Roux as he is valued in the team environment for his ability to communicate, and is the senior member of a young back three. Cheslin Kolbe, who is so much more assured under the high ball and more reliable in the overall aerial battle, could slot into the last line of defence, as could Frans Steyn.

But Steyn hasn’t started a game at fullback for a long time, and Erasmus will be reluctant to move Kolbe away from the position where he has been successful and his main communicator in the back three out of the team.