Durban - If the Springboks’ defeat of the Wallabies in Sydney a few weeks back was a quarter-final and last week’s win in Buenos Aries was a semi-final, it stands to reason that they will be treating the Rugby Championship finale in Durban on Saturday as something approaching a World Cup final.
“That is exactly how we see it,” Lood de Lager told the media yesterday just in case anybody is unclear as to how seriously the Boks are taking this game.
“It is a massive game in that, not only is the Rugby Championship at stake, but it is also great preparation for us players for the knock-out stages of next year’s World Cup.”
The towering lock pointed out that it is a long time since the Boks won the Rugby Championship when it has not been compromised by it being staged in a World Cup year.
The Boks last won it outside of a World Cup year in 2009. In 2019, De Jager was in the Bok team that won the title but only a single round was played.
“We have not won a double-round Rugby Championship for a long time and by that I mean with the teams playing each other twice in a complete round,” the 59-cap veteran said. “That would be a great achievement for this team.”
Hence, the Boks are treating this match as if they were playing in the final at the Stade de France in Paris this time next year.
“That is how we are treating it,” De Jager reiterated.
“It is privilege to play in a game as huge as this. When you are little boy growing up, you dream of playing those big games such as World Cup finals. When you ran around in your backyard, you simulated playing the All Blacks or in major finals. It is a massive privilege for us to have this chance to do our country proud.”
The Boks played exceptional rugby in the first half of their 36-20 defeat of the Pumas last week but De Jager says it was far from perfect.
“We certainly can play better than that. No rugby team has played the perfect game,” he stressed.
“We had a very good first half but there are always things we can improve on – we are striving to be an more rounded team going into the World Cup so there is always stuff to improve on, such as our scrum.
“We have looked at the scrum and how they put pressure on us. It is big part of our game, we like to put pressure on the opposition and force penalties, so we have looked at fixing that area and hopefully it will fire on Saturday.”
If Australia shock the All Blacks in Auckland, the Pumas will be playing to become the first Argentina team in history to win the Championship.
“That is the mindset they will have travelled to Durban with,” De Jager said. “They are preparing for this match as if they have a shot at history. They play with a lot of passion, they are proud of their country, so we cannot lose our concentration for a split second. There can be no soft moments.”
@MikeGreenaway67