Ruan Combrinck.

OK we joke, because to overturn a 16-point deficit with 20 minutes to go takes a pretty monumental effort.

So how does Allister Coetzee explain that tepid first 60 minute display, and to what does he credit the remarkable turnaround? Here’s IOL:

“I wasn’t happy with the work ethic in the first half. It was terrible and I told them in no uncertain terms at halftime,” explained Coetzee after South Africa suddenly sparked to life late in the game to set up a decider in Port Elizabeth next weekend.

“We had to step up in terms of work rate. It was much better in the second half. We had to be open and frank and honest with each other in the change room at half-time.

“When I spoke about work ethic, I mentioned the players by name. I told them they had to get it right. And the players responded to that. That’s what I’m looking for. It’s not what I say, it’s how they respond to the message.”

Strange how that message failed to be delivered from the get go after last week’s shambolic defeat, but I suppose we should be happy that our come from behind win will gloss over a match strewn with the most basic of errors.

A word from skipper Strauss:

“It was a hard chat at halftime”.

“The coach said the right things in terms of resilience, he said we had to keep believing and be process-driven. Sure you can look at the scoreboard but you have to take it play-by-play. It sounds like a cliche but that’s how we got home.”

At least it looks like we have some impetus coming off the bench, the likes of Combrinck and Warren Whiteley spurring their more experienced teammates into action:

“It’s important to know you have options off the bench and that the players can respond to adversity. The team were in a dark spot, they were in a hole,” added the coach following his second match in charge.

“Not many teams can work themselves out of that hole unless there is something special. We showed, backs to the wall, we can fight and we can win.”

It all comes down to the third and final test then, where Bok fans should expect a few changes to the starting XV.

We’ll give you this one Lions supporters, your boys helped prevent one hell of a catastrophe – for now.

Here’s Sport24 with a few more talking points from the match:

It has been evident in the last two Tests that the Springbok starting loose trio of Francois Louw, Siya Kolisi and Duane Vermeulen has not been functioning in a satisfactory manner.

Vermeulen and Louw appear tired after long Europeans seasons for Toulon and Bath respectively, while Kolisi looks out of sorts in his blindside role.

On Saturday, the Stormers loosie was at least twice robbed of the ball in contact as well as being guilty of missing some tackles.

The Boks’ lack of a fetcher was also evident over the last two weeks…

Before the Test in the SuperSport studio, Naas Botha and Nick Mallett noted that the Boks should take charge and dominate Ireland in the scrums.

Unfortunately, the complete opposite transpired on the field of play as the Irish dominated this set piece for large parts.

It was worrisome how they completely destroyed the Springbok scrum at times. Matters improved slightly when Julian Redelinghuys and Trevor Nyakane replaced Frans Malherbe and Tendai Mtawarira early in the second period…

Duane Vermeulen’s presence makes it tough for the Lions No 8 to warrant a starting spot, but Whiteley’s impact – along with several of his provincial team-mates – played a massive role in the Bok comeback on Saturday.

Whiteley appears a natural leader and while incumbent captain Adriaan Strauss surely deserves some credit for the turnaround, one cannot help but wonder that the former is the better long-term option for the Springbok captaincy.

Whiteley appears the best candidate to lead the Boks at the next World Cup and it’s perhaps only a matter of when – rather than if – that honour will be bestowed upon him.

[sources:iol&sport24]

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