Durban — Springbok forwards coach Deon Davids and hooker Malcolm Marx were on press conference duty from Buenos Aries on Monday evening and a tense media engagement it was as they did their best to not answer questions on the Elton Jantjies drama.
What Davids did say was that the Boks were determined to focus on beating Argentina and would do their best not to be distracted by a scandal that is making headlines across the world.
“We have dealt with the situation in a professional manner (Jantjies and dietician Zeenat Simjee were sent home in disgrace) and our focus is completely on the task at hand,” Davids said. “They are a tough team to beat, especially at home, and that needs all our focus.”
Davids was asked a very direct question as to whether Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus and head coach Jacques Nienaber understood the responsibility that the Springbok team has to be good role models.
He said: “This is a very tough question I am being asked … Personally, it is a huge privilege for me to be representing South Africa, and with it comes responsibility.”
The same question was put to Marx and he more or less gave the same answer.
Moving on to the rugby, Davids said the Boks had the Rugby Championship title in their sights with two rounds to go for all four teams.
“We must be clear-cut about what is important to us, we want to win the Championship. The competition is so close (New Zealand are on 10 points, the other three countries are on nine), but we can win it if keep up our intensity and focus from our win in Sydney,” he said.
“The pressure of these games is good preparation for us for the World Cup,” he continued. “If you look at the schedule for France next year, our path is likely to cross that of the other Rugby Championship teams again, so the experience and intensity we have experienced in the Championship is good preparation … Everything is building up ultimately to what we will experience in a quarter-final or even a semi. It is good for us to be playing these games.”
Davids said that the Boks will indeed be chasing a bonus point on Saturday to try and catch the All Blacks on the points table.
“Our aim is to win the Championship so we will strive to get maximum points out of the game, but we must not get ahead of ourselves, we must focus on the small steps before getting to the big ones,” he explained.
“We have to be at our best in all the areas to get ourselves in a position to go for the bonus point.”
Davids pointed out that the Pumas have come a long way since the Boks outclassed them twice in Gqeberha last year.
“The Pumas are very well coached (by new boss Michael Cheika) and they have definitely changed some things in their approach and it showed in their wins big wins over Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
But like all four teams, the Pumas have been inconsistent and after beating the All Blacks in Christchurch they lost by 50 points the following week in Hamilton.
“They have learned some big lessons playing Australia and New Zealand before us. They have very tough physical forwards and then a lot of skill at the back. They have improved their set pieces and have become a very well-balanced side.
“And then of course they are playing in front of a very passionate home crowd and will not be short of motivation, so it will be tough for us both on the field and also off it in terms of the crowd.”