Assistant coach Matt Proudfoot says Cheslin Kolbe will add some ‘zip’ the Springboks’ attacking play ahead of the Rugby Championship matches against Australia and New Zealand over the next two weeks.
Kolbe joined the Springboks for their first training session on Monday in Brisbane, where the South Africans are preparing for Saturday’s Rugby Championship match against the Wallabies at the Suncorp Stadium.
Proudfoot, who is in charge of the team’s forwards, said it was good to have Kolbe with the team, and that a big part of the Boks’ focus for this week will be their consistency and execution of opportunities following their shock defeat at the hands of Argentina in Mendoza two weekends ago.
“We are excited to have Cheslin in the side; I think he deserves his chance in the group because I think he has really performed well (in France for Toulouse),” said Proudfoot.
“I obviously know him well from my coaching days at the Stormers, and he is type of player who can really create something out of nothing. We are looking for some zip in our attack and Cheslin is a player who can add that.
The Springboks resumed their preparations for the clash against Australia with some technical sessions at their Brisbane hotel, before heading to the Churchie Grammar School for a field session in the late afternoon.
“We felt we played really well in Durban and let ourselves down in Argentina with our execution, so we are looking for the same consistency and to play with the same level of physicality like in Durban,” said Proudfoot.
“Our execution, whether at breakdown or from set piece, needs to improve across the board.”
Proudfoot added that the Boks know what to expect from the Wallabies: “They will be determine to bounce back and will no doubt be in our faces, so we need to prepare with the same intensity that we can expect from them on Saturday.
“We are in fact two teams looking to bounce back, so I think this game are going to be crucial for both sides, to see how each one respond. It will be a tight game played on the advantage line by both sides who will be looking to get on the front foot.”