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Springboks 'have been here before' says Franco Mostert

(Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

Lock Franco Mostert says South Africa are in familiar territory with their backs to the wall following the Rugby Championship loss to Australia on Sunday, but recent experience has shown them the way out of their current predicament.

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The 28-26 defeat means the Springboks will likely have to win their three remaining games in the competition to retain the title they won in 2019.

It is not dissimilar to when they lost the opening game of the Rugby World Cup in Japan to New Zealand and were left needing victories in their next six fixtures to lift the trophy. They also lost the first Test to the British & Irish Lions in July after which they had to win the next two to claim the series.

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They managed to pull it off on both occasions, and Mostert said they can use that experience against Australia on Saturday, and for their last two games against the All Blacks.

“We know where we are, we have been in this situation before and we know where to go from here,” Mostert told reporters on Tuesday. “The boys are confident and positive, and that is a good sign.”

Bok coach Jacques Nienaber bemoaned his side’s lack of discipline for their weekend loss, and Mostert agreed it was an area of concern.

“We can definitely improve our discipline, it let us down. But we have done our reviews, tomorrow is a new day and we will look to improve on our set-pieces,” he said. “If you give away stupid penalties, teams will capitalise on that. It builds up.

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“Credit to Australia, they were hungrier than us, but we will work hard during the week and hopefully we can come back stronger. Rugby is a funny game, you can be at your best and still lose. It is just about the bounce of the ball.”

The Boks have confirmed that reserve lock Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg will return to South Africa for personal reasons and will not be replaced in the squad.

Mostert, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth and Marvin Orie are the remaining specialist locks, while loose-forwards Rynhardt Elstadt and Jean-Luc du Preez can also provide cover in the position.

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TI 2 hours ago
All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

Rieko took literally years to turn from a defensive liability at 13 into a guy, who’s defensively sound as it befits the position. And it all came at the cost of him being much less of an offensive threat, than what he used to be. Proctor is a natural 13, he handles, passes, and kicks way better than Rieko ever will, he just isn’t as fast.


It’s unfair to judge Tupaea on the handful of games he’s had in 2022 before he got nearly crippled by a Wallaby lock. What could Tupaea/Proctor pairing be, if they got the same amount of chances as Jordie/Rieko?


Because no matter how you spin it, playing a player outside of his natural position is a poor asset management. No matter how talented he is, he still competes against players who had years and years of practice at the position. And if said guy is so talented that he actually CAN compete against specialists, imagine how much better still he could have been, if he had all those years to iron the toothing issues at the position. It just drives me mad.


Two things I hate in rugby union beyond description: aping after league, and playing players outside of their natural position. Especially considering, that they all admit they hate it, when they’re allowed to speak freely. Owen Farrell spent 80% of his international career at 12, saying every time when asked, that he is a 10 and prefers to play at 10. Those players are literally held at a gunpoint: play out of position, or no national jersey for you.

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