Springboks look to muzzle O’Connor magic in must-win Cape Town clash

The Springboks have a plan to deal with James O’Connor and his unpredictability at flyhalf ahead of the second Rugby Championship Test in Cape Town.

O’Connor turned back the clock in the first outing in Johannesburg with a fine performance, spearheading his team’s fightback for a famous victory at Ellis Park. This weekend at the DHL Stadium (5:10 p.m. kick-off), he can expect to be a marked man as the world champions look to secure their first win of the tournament.

Bok utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu says they’ve taken note of O’Connor’s ability and will look to shut him down come Saturday afternoon. The 22-year-old is part of a six-two Bomb Squad replacement bench and is looking forward to the duel.

“He had a solid game,” Feinberg-Mngomezulu said of the Aussie flyhalf.

“I think in the first 20 minutes he kind of felt what we’re about, so we just want to bring more of the same. Those passes he got out over the top — we’ve analysed how and why that happened, and we think we have the solutions to prevent it.

“I wish him a solid game, but I think we’ll be able to tie him down better.”

According to Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who will cover fullback, flyhalf, and centre on Saturday, the team has discussed how the Aussies managed to find space out wide. However, just because it happened doesn’t mean they’ll abandon their usual defensive approach.

The Boks thrive on their suffocating defensive pattern and will look to be sharper this weekend.

“We have a defensive system where we apply pressure on the opposition, and sometimes you have to concede a few metres on the edges. It’s something we’re aware of, and it’s not new to us. We haven’t focused on it too much.

“There were system errors leading up to those wide passes that caught us out of position, and we’ve worked on fixing that.”