Cape Town - The manner in which the Springboks won the 2019 Rugby World Cup will be hard to emulate in France later this year.
From Rassie Erasmus taking charge in March 2018, to having a 50% win record at the end of that year – which led to calls for the former loose forward to be sacked – it was a tough road to the top.
Captain Siya Kolisi was also injured, and there were some doubts about whether he would even make it to Japan 2019 on fitness grounds – not to mention some Bok fans questioning his place in the team anyway.
Disaster struck as the South Africans lost their World Cup opener to the All Blacks, and then it became a fairytale of monumental proportions as they swept past Namibia, Italy, Canada and Japan, before edging out Wales in the semifinals.
Despite still being regarded as underdogs in the title decider against England, the Boks trounced Eddie Jones’ team 32-12 to claim the Webb Ellis Cup for a third time.
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So, it would be somewhat understandable if the defending champions rock up in France in September without the same hunger for success, especially with their main rivals such as the French and Ireland getting vital game time in the Six Nations at the moment.
But that is exactly why they are on a three-week camp in Cape Town – right in the middle of the United Rugby Championship season.
“We are growing, and the nice thing about it is that the coaches have kind of set the standards,” Kolisi said during a break yesterday.
“They have said that there is no way you can do what you did in 2019 to win now, because the game has changed and the rules are changing the whole time – the game is getting faster.
“We are working harder on our fitness, and I think our discipline has been really good. They showed us the numbers – we are one of the teams who concede the least penalties in our (World Cup) group, and we want to take it down even more.
“Everything is being done at a much lower body height, and that’s what we’re working on.
“We are big men, but we don’t get a lot of us making tackles higher than we should because we work so hard on our fundamentals to make sure that whatever the rule is, we are already doing that.
“Fitness-wise, we’ve always been good at that, and the game is getting faster, and they are preparing us for that right now.
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“You can see with the Six Nations, everything is being made much faster. Step-by-step, we will get to where we need to be – we are not there yet.”
Kolisi turns 32 in June, and spoke about his journey since Japan 2019, which has included a move away from his beloved Stormers to the Sharks in Durban.
He will be joining another new team, Racing 92 in France, after the World Cup, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he will hang up his Bok boots.
“The coaches are always finding something to work towards, and also to say ‘We’ve done well in this, but what can we get it better?’ It also helps us when we go back to our union. We can always bring that in, and there are always new rules that the coaches are trying to make us better with,” the 75-cap loose forward said.
“It also reminds you what it takes to get here, and what an honour it is to be here, because it’s only a small group of us. It’s been an amazing time, it’s been tough, and there is still a week-and-a-half left.
“I feel really strong, and I have been playing with the Sharks. It was great for me… It was tough to move, but when I got there, I had six weeks of training without a rugby ball – just to get me fit, because after the World Cup, I was injured very quickly and I was overweight.
“Honestly, I wasn’t performing as well as I should be at the Stormers. It was tough for me to leave – I never thought I would’ve left the Stormers. But it helped me, and it took me a while to get my groove going.
“I feel like I am getting better the older I am getting, and it’s all due to preparation – and my body feels good too.
“So, my whole focus is just making sure that when I get back to the Sharks now, I play well and keep contributing, and I hopefully make the World Cup squad. That’s all I am focusing on now.”
@AshfakMohamed