Boks only have eyes for Tonga

25/09/2023 13:50

Prop Ox Nche and second-row pair Eben Etzebeth and RG Snyman say the Springboks have much to do before focusing on potential World Cup quarter-final opponents.

South Africa and Ireland locked horns in a Pool B blockbuster between the world's No 1 and 2 ranked teams at Stade de France on Saturday, which ended in a 13-8 defeat for the Boks.

SA were undefeated in two matches, having mauled minnows Romania after an opening round win against Scotland, and Jacques Nienaber's men will now turn their attention to their final group clash with Tonga in Marseille on Sunday.

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The South Africans lost their opening pool match to New Zealand in 2019 before going on to lift the Webb Ellis Cup, and potentially face hosts France or old enemies New Zealand in the last eight at this year's tournament.

But, Etzebeth insists the Boks can ill-afford to look further than this weekend's Test at Stade de Marseille, and speaking post-match on Saturday, the Bok enforcer told reporters: “We have one more [pool] game left. We have Tonga, that is the main focus now and after that the knockout starts, so I’m looking forward to that.

“We still have to win that game and then France have obviously got Italy. So there are still a few games that need to happen so we’ll probably play France or New Zealand. I am excited for either one of them.”

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On the key takeaways for the world champions from their loss to the Irish, Nche said: “We did our job in the second half but we just didn’t execute as well as we wanted to.

“The plan was there. We got into their 22. We just had to keep the ball a bit longer and build phases. I reckon we need to work harder on executing and getting points when we get into the 22 and keep the ball longer and build phases and build pressure.

Snyman added: “I don’t think there was a lack of effort on our side [against Ireland], I just think we should have capitalised better on opportunities in the 22.

“As far as Test matches go, that is up there. It was a good contest."

Photo: @Springboks/Twitter

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