Five key points to draw from Springboks’ victory over France
Boks’ storm set piece and Frans Steyn’s experience are among Test positives
After a much-needed and relieving win for coach Allister Coetzee and the Springboks‚ it is easy to become carried away. Wins were a precious commodity in 2016‚ so starting this international season on a positive note was vital. In that sense the 37-14 victory over France at Loftus was a case of "mission accomplished". But it is still early in the season. Here are five things we learnt on Saturday. 1. Bok set piece is strong: The set piece was the only positive aspect of the Boks’ overall 2016 season and on the evidence against France‚ the scrums and lineouts will be strengths again in 2017. The lineouts were not perfect but one adept move led to a great try for scrumhalf Ross Cronjé while the Boks poached three of the opposition’s balls. Scrums were solid‚ if not totally dominant‚ but with an entirely new pack it will take some time to bed down. Hooker Malcolm Marx made Test rugby look easy in his first start. 2. France cannot play much worse: It is easy to be carried away by this w...
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