- Springbok pivot Handre Pollard admitted that the Australians outwitted them in all departments in Brisbane.
- That the Wallabies showed up the Springboks from a street smart perspective doesn’t augur well for Jacques Nienaber’s side ahead of the All Black clash this weekend.
- The Boks and the All Blacks will be meeting for the 100th time on Saturday.
Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard’s admission that they weren’t street smart enough for the Wallabies means they need to be better in that department for their highly anticipated clash against the All Black this week.
In their 30-17 defeat to the Wallabies at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday, the Springboks were outplayed in all departments.
With New Zealand not having to get out of third gear in their two successive wins against Argentina while Australia hardly tested them, the Boks are up against it when they meet the All Blacks for the 100th time in Townsville on Saturday.
Pollard said while Australia were deserving winners, they indulged in prepared off-the-ball incidents that helped throw the Boks off their game.
“They are very street smart. They definitely train it and the referees don’t see everything. If they pick it up now and then, great, and we do prep the refs on that as well,” Pollard said.
“It’s very difficult to see a lot of stuff off the ball with the refs focusing on the ball and breakdown. They’re good at it.
“They do it very well and they get away with it 90% of the time. We don’t do that, we don’t coach that and we don’t play the game that way, but it’s not a problem if they want to do it.
“We should handle it, and that’s about it.”
Pollard said the Boks don’t have a lot of time to reset for their first meeting against their old rivals since the 23-13 defeat in the 2019 Rugby World Cup group game.
“We know that we need to do better, but we don’t have a lot of time to reset for the game,” Pollard said.
“We are never short on motivation when it comes to playing the All Blacks and that applies for every Test match for that matter.”
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