Wallace Sititi says the All Blacks have no time to dwell on their back-to-back defeats to the Springboks as they prepare for the fourth and final Test in Baltimore on Saturday.
The All Blacks arrived in the United States on the back of consecutive losses in Cape Town and Johannesburg, with their early-season momentum having been replaced by mounting pressure.
Their task has been made tougher by injuries to captain Ardie Savea and openside flanker Luke Jacobson, but Sititi insists the All Blacks must embrace the responsibility of filling the void.
“We have been around long enough to know that when it’s time to step up, it’s your time to step up,” Sititi said. “We will make sure we hold each other accountable.”
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Sititi impressed after replacing Savea in the third Test at FNB Stadium, making nine carries, two linebreaks and five tackles as the All Blacks lost 29-24.
But the performance did little to hide their shortcomings, particularly at scrum and lineout time, while the All Blacks conceded 12 penalties.
“We had a pretty stern review and now it’s about moving forward,” Sititi said. “We have got a big Test this weekend.”
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The 24-year-old said the All Blacks were particularly frustrated by the way they allowed the Springboks to apply pressure.
“Anywhere you give away penalties it’s always an issue. Not just the breakdown. Sort of anywhere,” he said. “I guess we are just giving them easy entry into our 22m and they are capitalising on it a bit better than we are.”
The Boks were awarded a penalty try from a dominant scrum and scored a try from a long-range lineout maul at FNB Stadium, exposing areas the All Blacks know must improve.
“It is never nice for any team when you concede tries like we did at the weekend and it’s something that we don’t take lightly,” Sititi said. “We are focusing on getting better there and making sure it doesn’t happen again.”
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Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
The post ‘Gutted’ Sititi confident of All Blacks turnaround appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Wallace Sititi says the All Blacks have no time to dwell on their back-to-back defeats to the Springboks as they prepare for the fourth and final Test in Baltimore on Saturday.
The post ‘Gutted’ Sititi confident of All Blacks turnaround appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
