'Boks must improve kicking'
July 24, 2001

National coach Harry Viljoen on Monday admitted the Boks' poor goalkicking was reason for concern, and added that Western Province and Stormers star Braam van Straaten could find himself in the starting line-up against the Australians on Saturday.

The Springboks face a must-win Tri-Nations game against the world champions at Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld this weekend. Not only will they be looking to bounce back from the 12-3 loss to the All Blacks in Cape Town, they will also be desperate to show the fans they have the ability to score tries and challenge the world's best.

The lack of a quality goalkicker cost the home side dearly on Saturday, with Percy Montgomery missing four relatively simple chances and Butch James also failing with a very kickable penalty that would have secured a bonus point for losing by less than seven.

Viljoen said he hoped the dryer conditions in Pretoria would help the kickers. "On a dryer field like Loftus it is very important that we get our kicking right. It really wasn't up to scratch against New Zealand and yes, the team's kicking in general is a bit of a headache. I can't quite put my finger on it, but this can't go on any longer."

Whether Van Straaten replaces the injured Marius Joubert at centre or Butch James at flyhalf, Viljoen will have to find a spot for him. "We have to find a place for Braam for Saturday's game against the Wallabies. He has now spent three weeks with backline coach Tim Lane and will be ready to play a role on Saturday," the coach said.

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices