Paul de Villiers believes the Springboks’ uncompromising physicality was the foundation for their emphatic 43-0 victory over Wales at Kings Park on Saturday.
The world champions dominated from the outset, running in seven unanswered tries to follow up last November’s 73-0 demolition of Wales in Cardiff with another one-sided display.
RECAP: Seven-try Boks blank Wales again
Despite the convincing scoreline, Man of the Match De Villiers felt the slippery conditions prevented the Springboks from being even more clinical.
“We wanted to bring our physicality and I thought we did that in the set-piece, in our carries and in our defence,” he said.
“The ball was a bit wet, which slowed us down a bit and obviously cost us a bit of execution, especially in the 22.”
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The loose forward said the Boks had targeted the collision areas all week and were pleased with how they imposed themselves.
“We wanted to be physical, we wanted to give our presence especially in our scrums and in our mauls and in our defence, and I thought we did that well.”
South Africa’s scrum again proved a major weapon, with both the starting pack and the replacements making life tough for the visitors.
De Villiers reserved special praise for scrum coach Daan Human and the impact made by the Bomb Squad.
“Credit to the coaches, credit to [scrum] coach Daan [Human] and also the bench that came on and just kept going forward and kept it going from where we left off in the first half.”
The victory also marked memorable Test debuts for flyhalf Vusi Moyo and wing Jaco Williams, who both crossed for tries as another wave of newcomers made an immediate impression in green and gold.
Tighthead prop Carlü Sadie and lock Ruben van Heerden also put in strong debut performances.
According to De Villiers, the Springboks’ culture makes it easy for new players to settle into the squad.
“The environment they’re creating here is such where the guys who’ve been here longer almost take us in, make us feel comfortable and let us do our thing and let us play with our talents – and that’s awesome.”
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
The post De Villiers: Physicality won it for Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Paul de Villiers believes the Springboks’ uncompromising physicality was the foundation for their emphatic 43-0 victory over Wales at Kings Park on Saturday.
The post De Villiers: Physicality won it for Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
