Boks determined to bounce back in Cape Town

The Boks are determined to bounce back when they face New Zealand again at DHL Stadium on Saturday.

Springboks prop Thomas du Toit says the team has already moved on from their opening defeat in the Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series.

Instead, the Boks are focused on correcting their mistakes and producing a much-improved performance in Cape Town.

The Boks arrived in the Mother City on Wednesday evening after completing their main training block in Johannesburg.

They had Thursday off to recover and switch their focus to Saturday’s clash. The team will complete their captains run on Friday.

“The important thing was to park that game and take the learnings as quickly as we could,” Du Toit told the media on Thursday.

Boks focused on fixing their mistakes

Du Toit believes the Boks have developed a strong ability to move on quickly after difficult performances.

“I think we’ve done an incredible job over the last couple of years putting each game in its own box,” he said.

“Rather than looking back at what went wrong the whole week, we try to rectify as much as we can and fix things as quickly as possible.”

The Boks completed their review by Monday afternoon and quickly turned their attention to training.

“By Monday afternoon we had a proper review, and we worked on the things that went wrong on the training field this week,” Du Toit explained.

That approach will be important as the Boks prepare for another intense battle against the All Blacks.

All Blacks expected to give the Springboks another scrum battle

Du Toit has been named in the replacement front row alongside Deon Fourie and Gerhard Steenekamp.

The Boks enjoyed periods of dominance at scrum time during the previous match. However, Du Toit knows Saturday will bring another major challenge.

“It’s going to be interesting, like every other week,” he said.

“We trained hard this week, and I’m sure the All Blacks have too. Everyone will try to bring their A-game on Saturday.”

The scrum remains an important part of both teams’ identity. Du Toit pointed to the All Blacks’ recent performance against the Lions as evidence of their progress.

“Look at the Lions game against the All Blacks. You could definitely see they’ve been working on it and it’s going well for them,” he said.

“So we’ll do our best, but it’s something both teams pride themselves on.”

The Boks also know that success from the previous match means little this weekend.

Boks ready to raise the intensity

Du Toit says players coming off the bench must do more than simply maintain the team’s intensity.

“Things can change so quickly within a week,” he said.

“Coming off the bench, it’s not just about staying at the same tempo that the starting guys deliver. It’s about trying to lift that and increase it.”

The Boks will therefore look to build on their previous scrum dominance while eliminating the errors that cost them.

“Those players did very well last week, but that doesn’t count for anything this week,” Du Toit added.

“We need to rectify the mistakes we made and try to build on that dominance, knowing that it starts from the ground up.”

He also stressed that Saturday presents a completely fresh contest.

“No points are carried over. It starts all over again.”

The Springboks celebrate major milestones

Saturday will also be a special occasion for two experienced members of the Boks squad.

Prop Ox Nche will earn his 50th Test cap when he takes the field against New Zealand.

Meanwhile, utility forward Pieter-Steph du Toit will reach the 100-Test milestone. He will become only the 11th Bok player in history to achieve the feat.

Thomas du Toit expressed his pride in both players.

“I’m incredibly grateful for him as a player and as a person, and I’m very proud of him earning his 50th,” he said.

“Hopefully we can do the job to make it a memorable one for him and Pieter-Steph.”

Siya Kolisi gives Boks a boost

The Boks will also welcome the return of regular captain Siya Kolisi to the starting XV.

Kolisi has recovered from injury and worked closely with the medical team throughout his rehabilitation.

Du Toit praised the captain for taking the time needed to return properly.

“It’s great to have Siya back,” Du Toit said.

“He worked really hard on his rehab to get back as quickly as he could.”

However, Kolisi also showed patience during his recovery. Whenever he felt less than 100%, he told the medical team and took additional time to recover.

“That was a very responsible call, not only for the team but for himself too,” Du Toit said.

Kolisi’s leadership should provide another boost for the Boks ahead of the crucial encounter.

“He’s very vocal, especially at training, and that helps a lot because it gives confidence to the younger guys and the entire team.”

The Boks will now look to turn their lessons from the opening match into action when they face the All Blacks again.

Kick-off is at 17h10 on Saturday, with the match broadcast live on SuperSport.