THE FINAL WHISTLE
MARK KEOHANE: Springboks have time to improve before World Cup
The result seemed almost inevitable for the Springboks in Cardiff; so too the performance — or lack thereof — in the opening 20 minutes. Wales won for a third successive time against the Boks in the past three years. The Welsh have only beaten SA four times over all the years. Wales, since Warren Gatland took charge as coach, have won four times in 35 games against New Zealand, Australia and SA. Three of those have been against SA. One was against Australia many years back. Wales, depleted through injury and unavailability, triumphed against a Bok team that failed to fire in the opening 20 minutes and conceded three tries in the opening half hour. The Boks are some way off the pace. If you want to know by just how much then compare what the All Blacks did to France and Wales in the past few weeks. They won by 20 and 15 points respectively. The Boks won by one point against France and lost by two to Wales.Coach Allister Coetzee has not delivered in two seasons, despite his protests t...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.