Kolbe to work on woeful goal-kicking

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Cheslin Kolbe has admitted that he must deliver a better effort in front of the uprights when the Springboks and France clash in Marseille on Saturday.

Kolbe, who missed two from three shots in a narrow defeat by Ireland last week, will be the Boks’ primary goal-kicker against Les Bleus at Stade Velodrome.

Speaking in the buildup to the second of four end-of-year Tests for the world champions in Europe, he told media: “I didn’t have a good one last week and that’s something I take full responsibility for.

“I’ve been continuing to work on it [kicking] throughout the week in training and I have been putting in the extra hours.

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“The main thing is that I play as well as I can, which is my primary job, and make sure that I score the points for the team, whether they’re penalties or conversions.

“It’s a professional sport, it’s my job, so we just need to put in the hard work, put extra pressure on myself, but also, enjoy the occasion.

“There’s our responsibility, but we never go out on the field to do badly. We go out on the field to be successful and win.

“Sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn’t. You learn lessons and you get better with them.”

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After naming the lineup to face France, Jacques Nienaber said his decision to appoint Kolbe as the go-to goal-kicker for the Boks was based on his comfortability with the duties at club level.

“I practice kicking with [kicking coach] Maxime [Petitjean] at Toulon. I had a few words with him on things I can improve on,” the Bok wing said.

“I need to improve on my focus points, getting through the ball and the small details from a place-kicking perspective.”

Photo: Steve Haag/Sports Hollywoodbets

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Devin Hermanus