Tuesday 25 September 2012

Australia's pack will provide a formidable challenge in Saturday's Rugby Championship clash in Pretoria, says South Africa forwards coach Johann van Graan


The Springboks scrum dominated New Zealand in Dunedin in their last match but a dreadful kicking performance - 20 points went begging - meant they lost 21-11.
Van Graan wants a similarly physical performance from his eight against the Wallabies in Pretoria on Saturday, and he believes the days of Australia's scrum being regularly dismantled are over.
"We've worked hard the last few weeks and the front row gave one of their best performances (in Dunedin) and the loose forwards got stuck in as well," Van Graan said.
"We can improve on the lineout, where we lost a couple of balls, but the kick-offs were good and so was the ball retention - we had our lowest turnover rate of the whole year.
"I'm really proud of the performance against the All Blacks, we played some of our best rugby and to have 58 per cent territory and 52 per cent possession against them at home is a great effort.
"Australia scrummed very well against us and Nathan Sharpe is one of the best locks of all time, so their line-out is tricky and they kick to different places to put you under pressure.
"Playing against the No 2 side in the world is always a massive challenge."
"The Wallabies are a big threat, especially with their reverse attacking lines, Digby Ioane and Dom Shipperley in particular. We will have to improve our defence and hope our kicking game is spot on."http://www1.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/12321/8108357/Australia-s-pack-will-provide-a-formidable-challenge-in-Saturday-s-Rugby-Championship-clash-in-Pretoria-says-South-Africa-forwards-coach-Johann-van-Graan

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