- Springbok loose forward Pieter-Steph du Toit said they were not happy with the way they played against Ireland last week.
- The Boks lost that match 19-16, which means they come into Saturday’s game against France in Marseille under enormous pressure.
- Du Toit said France has a massive package that will require stopping.
in Toulon
Springbok forward Pieter-Steph du Toit said he was disappointed with his performance against Ireland last week but the aim is to improve against France in Marseille on Saturday.
Du Toit had a more than satisfactory game but felt they were disappointed in last week’s 19-16 loss at the Aviva Stadium.
The French, who come into the game on an 11-match unbeaten run, offer the perfect redemption story for the Boks.
Ireland may be rated as the best team in the world, but it is France who are the reigning Six Nation Grand Slam champions.
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“If you look at last weekend’s match in Dublin, we were very disappointed,” Du Toit said.
“We didn’t do what we said we were going to do and we didn’t follow through on the plans we had for that weekend.
gazelle team
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain) , 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Makazole Mapimpi
“However, the atmosphere in the striker’s group is always good. We always try to be better and make new plans.
“We are trying to improve this weekend and make sure the atmosphere is better for this weekend.”
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Du Toit also felt his maul needed to improve significantly in Marseille on Saturday. Ireland found several successful ways to dispel the SA maul.
With France sporting a bigger and more varied pack, the Boks will have to be smarter to crack France’s rolling maul code.
“Teams have come up with ways to stop our maul and have come up with some new tricks that we haven’t experienced in the past,” Du Toit said.
“The more tricks and new things we experiment with them, the better we can adapt, so the more tricks that are presented to us, the faster we adapt.
“It’s also going to be difficult to match them up front because they have the biggest package in rugby at the moment.
“We will definitely make one or two more plans because they can match our physique.”
The start is at 22:00 (SA time).
