Outgoing Springbok captain Adriaan Strauss has called on his Springbok team mates to be more clinical in their Rugby Championship match against Australia’s Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday.
Strauss announced that he will retire from international rugby at the end of the season but will remain as captain through the Rugby Championship season.
Saturday’s Rugby Championship match will be his sixth match as captain and his 60th Test match for South Africa.
Strauss admitted the Boks have not been able to play to their potential yet, but he hopes that on Saturday they will be able to deliver a much-improved performance against the Wallabies in the Suncorp Stadium.
“It’s always a massive game against Australia,” said Strauss.
“We are aware they are a good side, especially here in Brisbane where we don’t have a good record. We need to make a step up on defence and we must be more ruthless and take our opportunities.
“We have not been able to build scoreboard pressure and that is something we have to improve on. Australia have game breakers who can run all over the park, so our work rate will have to be up there because it’s physically tough against them.”
Regarding the breakdown contest, Strauss said. “Australia have players who are good on the ground and the breakdown will be a massive battle and we will have to front up there.
“We need to be sharp and we need to be aware of where they are on the pitch and how they position themselves to go for that ball steal. It’s an area where they are very good at.
“We are an evolving team and we are definitely not playing the rugby that we know we are capable of playing. We know where we are heading and it’s something we are working on – it’s a process and we have put a lot of work into it, especially technically,” added Strauss.
