Cheslin Kolbe has backed the scrutinised Springbok gameplan to give him enough counter-attacking opportunities to weave his magic in the crunch Test against Wales in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Springboks go into the final Test of the Incoming Tour against Wales on a level pegging after the tourists evened up the series by claiming a historic win in Bloemfontein.
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Given that they came into the series on the back of a poor Six Nations campaign, Wales have exceeded expectations and could have won the first Test after taking a 15-point lead into half time.
The Boks were able to come back into that match thanks to a combination of the power of their maul and a lack of discipline from the visitors, who were reduced to 12 men during a period in the second half.
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In both Tests, Jacques Nienaber’s team went through periods where they dominated possession and territory, but struggled to turn that into points, which has led to criticism of the gameplan as a whole.
However, speaking ahead of the decisive third Test, Kolbe, who has been a clutch player for the Springboks in do-or-die games, backed the forwards-oriented gameplan to come up trumps for the hosts.
“Hopefully we will see a few tries, but it’s not just going to happen, a lot of hard work is going to have to go into it. If there are opportunities, I am sure that every player who goes out there is going to try their best to score points and to do it for the team,” Kolbe said.
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“We have got amazing backline players and amazing forwards as well. It is definitely a team effort. There is a plan in place of what the coaches expect from us, and for us as a team we just need to make sure that we can implement that the best we can on the field.
“Of course, we all want to run with the ball and get one-on-one opportunities, but those moments will definitely come as long as we put in the hard work that we get from our forwards. That will make us as backline players look like superstars but, mainly, all the hard work is done up front and we just need to implement the plan we have worked out during the week on Saturday.”
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In a surprise call, Nienaber backed youngster Jaden Hendrikse to start at scrumhalf ahead of the far-more experienced Faf de Klerk, who has been named on the bench.
“I am excited for Jaden. It’s a big responsibility, to give direction to the team,” said Kolbe. “I don’t want to give away too much about what will happen on Saturday, but if there are kicks, we as wings need to make sure we chase as hard as we can and get into that aerial battle.
“Wales and the Springboks play a similar brand. I’ve played against Josh Adams and Louis [Rees-Zammit] quite a few times at club level and they are definitely amazing players. I am looking forward to that.”
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Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
