Boks to pressure Australia lineoutSouth Africa are hoping to heap more pressure on Australia’s malfunctioning lineout as they look to get back to winning ways in the Rugby Championship this weekend, lock Lood de Jager said yesterday.
The Springboks suffered only their second ever defeat to Argentina in their last match in the competition in Salta two weeks ago and will be desperate to make amends in Brisbane. Australia’s campaign got off to an even worse start with back-to-back losses to New Zealand during which their lineout was taken apart by the world champions.
De Jager and Eben Etzebeth famously clashed off the ball in a Super Rugby match earlier this season but they will be united in an imposing Springbok second row at Lang Park on Saturday. Even if the 23-year-old de Jager thought the All Blacks should take much of the credit for their superiority in that department, he said the Springboks would also have plans for a part of the game at which they have traditionally excelled. “The All Blacks are a very good man-watching side in lineouts. If you have an off day, they can punish you for it,” he told reporters in Brisbane yesterday. “In the series against England, Australia won lineout ball pretty easily.
“It’s not a big concern for them but we’ve done our homework as well and hopefully we can put them under pressure at lineout time.”
Australia’s lineout woes have come to encapsulate criticism of Michael Cheika’s team selection in the local media after six straight defeats going back to last year’s World Cup final. The coach’s continued faith in David Pocock and Michael Hooper as a loose forward combination leaves the back row short not only of a traditional number eight but also an extra lineout jumper.
De Jager thought the media onslaught would have a positive impact on the Wallabies set piece and was intrigued to see what Cheika’s solution might be. “(I’m) looking forward to the game,” he added. “They’re under pressure and the media’s made a big thing about it so in the week they would have probably rectified it and come up with new plans. “We’ll see on Saturday what they come with.”
NAMPA/REUTERS