Sharpening up on discipline and fixing aspects of their game that did not go according to plan will be focus points for the Springboks during a World Cup training camp in Corsica this week, Duane Vermeulen says.
After thrashing the All Blacks in London, the Boks flew to Corsica where they will train before leaving for their World Cup base in Toulon on Sunday.
The Boks will be based on the mountainous island southeast of the French mainland until they travel to Toulon for the World Cup opener against Scotland on September 10.
“We made mistakes against New Zealand and there were a couple of things that didn’t go our way and discipline was one of them,” Vermeulen said.
“We got a yellow card and penalties can make you lose a game, so we have to sharpen up on that.
“There’s still a lot in the tank. We’ve got to prepare well for our first game against Scotland.
“All the focus is on Scotland from this moment on. We really wanted to lay a marker down going into the World Cup and we wanted to show each other what lies inside every person.
“We played for one another, and it was a fantastic result for us.
“It was our biggest margin over New Zealand so it was a good one and good preparation, but it’s now just the start of the World Cup and hopefully we can go into it with a bit of confidence.
“We really wanted to play a full 80 minutes after the last time we met, and the guys really played their part.
“Our last game against New Zealand wasn’t great and our first 20 minutes was our worst performance against New Zealand ever. They capitalised on our mistakes.
“In the week we’d worked on all those small things that didn’t go well. This is one step in the right direction — there are still one or two little things we can tweak.
“The coaches are happy and the team’s really happy with the performance and hopefully we can build on that.”
The five standby players who travelled with the team to the UK — Jean-Luc du Preez, Joseph Dweba, Handré Pollard, Lukhanyo Am and Thomas du Toit — have returned to their clubs.
They are all on standby should the team suffer any injuries during the World Cup.
“The Corsica camp will be ideal for the players to adapt to the conditions in France while fine-tuning preparations for our first World Cup game,” Bok coach Jacques Nienaber said.
“We reaped the rewards of spending time in Japan before the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and hopefully this camp will be equally beneficial in getting the players used to the climate and culture in France.”
Nienaber wants the Boks to work at improving their ability to convert scoring opportunities in Corsica.
“We all know there’s hard work for us ahead, especially before we go into the World Cup,” he said.
“In those first 20 minutes, we had seven opportunities that we didn’t use, we were tackled into touch twice and held up over the try line twice.
“In a World Cup, where the pressure is greater, you won’t have that many opportunities in a whole Test and you have to use them.
“So, we have lots to work on.”
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