Bobby after the Tri-Nations title
July 30, 2001

The Springboks will leave for the Australasian leg of the Vodacom Tri-Nations a more confident outfit following their gutsy 20-15 victory over the world champions Wallabies at Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Captain Bob Skinstad, who scored the match-winning try, said he is certain his troops have turned the corner and were ready to challenge for the trophy Down Under. "I believe we have it in us to repeat the victory (against the Wallabies) in Australia and New Zealand.

"We should never have lost last week against the All Blacks, but we now know what we must do to claim the title," he added.

They will also have more faith in coach Harry Viljoen's much-vaunted gameplan after weeks of seemingly non-existent patterns and inept option-taking. The Boks strung together some impressive phases and putting the opposition tryline under immense pressure - unlike the 12-3 loss to New Zealand in the opener last weekend.

More importantly, however, the Boks were able to do what most expected - muscle the opposition off the ball and out of the game to secure the win. Experienced troopers like Mark Andrews, Andre Venter and Andre Vos were at their best in this department, while Robbie Fleck and Braam van Straaten shored up the midfield.

Defensive specialist Les Kiss was also praised for the work he's done in his time with the national side. For the Boks to go two games against the two most dangerous backlines in world rugby without conceding a try takes some doing.

Viljoen conceded as much after the match on Saturday, saying: "Les Kiss has been superb. We studied their phase play and did a lot of counter-defensive work."

The Springboks will have a three-week break before their rematch with the Wallabies in Perth on August 18. They conclude their 2001 campaign against the table-topping All Blacks at Auckland's Eden Park a week later.

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