adminJOHANNESBURG. — While it is easy to get swept up in the hyperbole of tomorrow’s World Cup warm-up match between the Springboks and the All Blacks, midfielder Andre Esterhuizen was playing down talk of revenge.
The Springboks may still be smarting from their loss in the Rugby Championship, where an opening 20 minutes cost them the game and saw them go 17-0 down in a patch where they were far from their best.
But while that narrative has fuelled a lot of their play in matches subsequent, it isn’t revenge that is the factor in their motivation for tomorrow’s “warm-up” match for the World Cup.
While the match itself holds no significance for either side other than to continue their momentum into the World Cup, there is always a significance when the two sides clash and Esterhuizen made it clear that they won’t be holding anything back.
“I don’t think you hold back anything in a test match,” Esterhuizen quipped.
“Every test match is different, whether at Twickenham or in a World Cup quarter-final. There is a big possibility that we will play them in a quarter-final. We are going to throw everything out there this weekend. It is going to be a hard battle and we are not going to hold back anything.”
But while the media in attendance were looking for a juicy soundbite, Esterhuizen was careful not to give it to them, and rather reiterated the fact that the Boks were disappointed with their own opening 20 minutes in Auckland and not interested in revenge.
And it is understandable, given if they started better they may have had a different result. Many of the forwards that were on the bench in Auckland will start this weekend, with the Boks looking to put down a marker, not in terms of revenge but rather in sorting out their own demons from the Auckland game.
“It’s not about a score to settle with the All Blacks, but rather a score to settle with ourselves. We know we weren’t good enough in that game, and to better ourselves in this game and give our all from the start and just play with a big intensity and physicality,” Esterhuizen explained.
The Boks will know — whatever the result — it is a stepping stone to a bigger picture, and that is what matters. But it would be great for them to settle their score with a victory at Twickenham tomorrow as well. — Supersport
Online Reporter