Skipper Siya Kolisi and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick say the Springboks must be faster and smarter than four years ago if the world champions are to defend their crown in 2023.
At Japan 2019, the Boks demonstrated a perfect mix of brutal pragmatism and electric finishing based around a dominant set-piece and kicking machines Faf de Klerk and Handre Pollard to win SA’s third World Cup title.
Speaking to reporters in Cape Town on Tuesday as one of 14 Boks completing a three-week readiness camp for this year’s Test season, Kolisi insisted his charges can’t rely on what they did in the past if they want to retain the Webb Ellis Cup.
“We’re growing and the nice thing about it is that the coaches have set the standard and said there’s no way you can do what you did in 2019 and win now,” he said.
“The game has changed, the rules are changing the whole time, and the game is getting faster. So, we’re working hard on our fitness,” Kolisi said.
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He added: “We’re one of the teams that’s conceded the least number of penalties [in 2022]. And we want to take it down even more.
“[The game] is being played at a much lower level, [and by that] I mean body height. And that’s what we’re working on.
“We’re big men but you don’t get a lot of us making tackles higher than they should be because we’ve worked so hard on our fundamentals to make sure that, whatever the rule is, we’re already doing that.”
Stick explained the aim of the camp in the Mother City, which included some training at the beach, is to get the players in “better shape and space”.
“The goal is to make sure that they’re in better shape and better space, also when it comes to rugby,” he said.
“When they’re going back to their franchises they’re going into the playoffs. So, our main focus point will be on the fundamentals.
“This afternoon there’s a nice beach conditioning session prepared. Next week we’re going to move to Stellenbosch, and we know Stellenbosch at this time [of the year], it’s going to be close to 40 degrees.”
