Siya Kolisi says the Springboks can’t afford to get caught up with worrying about their discipline when they face France in the World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
The Springboks have been one of the better-disciplined teams in the World Cup pool stages, not receiving a single yellow card in their four matches.
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However, the heat will be on the defending champions when they take on the tournament hosts at a hostile Stade de France, where the partizan crowd will scream blue murder at any sort of foul play from the South Africans.
Speaking ahead of the match, Bok captain Kolisi called on his teammates to keep toeing the line and not worry about being overly physical.
“Our discipline has been really good – I think we are the only team who haven’t received a yellow card in this tournament,” Kolisi said. “We do play physically, we do play on the edge but we train to tackle correctly and stay onside. That is why our technique is so important. But at the same time, we can’t be worried about doing something crazy.
“We have to live on the edge, that is what our game is as a South African team, to play as hard as we can for 80 minutes.
“People enjoy rugby because it’s brutal. We need to go forward so our wings and backs can do their thing. I think the ref will be able to manage the game and if we steer clear of anything naughty, we will be alright.”
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With the Springboks fielding 15 players who were involved in the 2019 World Cup final, Kolisi said the world champions simply have to get the job done on Sunday.
“Our coaching staff have been amazing. They have planned for different scenarios, but for us as players, not a lot changes. It is the same as in the pool games. If we didn’t beat Tonga, we wouldn’t be here today. A lot of this team has been here before; 90 per cent of our team played at the last World Cup.
“There are no excuses, we have been here before and will draw a lot of confidence from that. We are confident but we know France are also confident and have the advantage of playing at home, so it’s going to be a proper battle.”
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