Springboks’ goal-kicking woes: Assurances ahead of France Test!

On Tuesday, Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber named a team showing five changes and two positional switches from the side that ran out against Ireland last weekend. The second Test on the Outgoing Tour against France kicks off at 22h00 (SA time) at the Stade Vélodrome.

READ: SPRINGBOKS REFUSE TO BLAME OFFICIATING OR GOAL KICKING WOES

Before the tour kicked off, the Bok coaches acknowledged that the importance of goal-kicking consistency was very much top of mind, but some concerns immediately arose in the clash against Ireland as Damian Willemse missed a regular shot at posts. Cheslin Kolbe soon took over the goal-kicking duties, but also missed a couple of shots as he adjusted to this responsibility.

When answering a question from The South African about whether goal-kicking was a particular focus area once again this week, Nienaber paused and said he wanted to respond with as much detail as possible.

“The only way they’ll get better to handle that pressure is to play under that kind of pressure. I don’t want to call Damian our third choice because although we know he’s only playing his fourth Test at No 10, we know the quality of the player. He might have 25 Tests under his belt, but it’s only the fourth time he’s had to take the goal-kicking duties because we had the other guys present.

“In 2018, we started with Handre (Pollard) and Elton (Jantjies), who started the majority of our Test matches. Our backup 10 had to be a seasoned international player in Frans Steyn. Unfortunately, we are where we are in that all three aren’t available…

“We’re working on it, like we do always. They measure their kicks, every one’s distance and accuracy. We can tell you the kicking percentage in training. We are working incredibly hard and the players are taking it incredibly seriously. But the most senior flyhalf we have is Damian. That’s our reality.”

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Nienaber also implied that Kolbe will retain the goal-kicking responsibilities on Saturday.

“Cheslin has kicked for Toulouse when [Romain] Ntamack was injured and on French duty and he kicked well for them,” said Nienaber. “It’s not something Cheslin needs to get used to, but it is something Damian needs to get used to, and the only way for him to do so is by kicking in Test matches.

“It’s a different pressure when you have to kick for your country with the Bok emblem on your chest in front of around 60,000 people.”

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Springboks record against France:

Played 44; Won 27; Lost 11; Drawn 6; Points for: 939, Points against: 662; Tries scored 105, Tries conceded 59; Highest score 52-10; Biggest win 42 points. Win % 61%.

Milestones:

• Jesse Kriel is the only player in the squad who has scored more than one try against France. He is currently on three tries.
• Siya Kolisi holds the most Test caps against France in the Springbok squad, with six Tests played.
• Eben Etzebeth is the second most capped Springbok lock with 107 Tests.
• Makazole Mapimpi will feature off the bench for the first time in his Test career

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Miscellaneous:

• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 725.
• There are 278 caps in the backline, with 447 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are a further 255
• The average caps per player in the backline are 39, the forwards 55, while the players on the bench average 31.

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Teams

Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Subs: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Makazole Mapimpi.

France – TBC