RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP:
Boks not focusing on past, says Johann van Graan
That the Springboks have not won in New Zealand since 2009 is the least of assistant coach Johann van Graan’s worries, writes Khanyiso Tshwaku.He has experienced the heartbreak of knowing your best is not good enough to topple a legendary All Blacks side.Van Graan was with the 2013 side that went toe-to-toe with the All Blacks for the full 80 minutes at Eden Park before Romain Poite’s contentious officiating saw the Boks reduced to 14 men, thus handing the All Blacks an advantage.The Boks were also on the wrong side of a narrow 14-10 reverse in Wellington as a coming-of-age performance by Handré Pollard and Cornal Hendricks’s try were not enough to rescue Heyneke Meyer’s side.The 2016 visit to Christchurch that resulted in the 41-13 clobbering can best be left to the annals of history.Van Graan is well aware of the lessons the Boks have to take in for Saturday’s Test against the All Blacks at the North Harbour Stadium in Albany, but the past will not bring them a win in the present....
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