2023-09-03 21:36:18
Jacques Nienaber, coach of South Africa, recalled the stakes of his team’s first group match at the World Cup, scheduled against XV du Chardon.
South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber said on Sunday that the Springboks’ first game against Scotland on September 10 in Marseille “will be the most important of the World Cup”which starts on Friday and whose team is defending champion. “We are in a hen (the B, editor’s note) difficult, that’s why the game against Scotland is so important.”explained the South African coach during a press conference in La Seyne-sur-Mer (Var).
“The preparation matches that we played counted a lot because they allowed us to gain confidence, to learn and to build. To prepare ourselves to face Scotland.”, he added. However, the South African coach said that a defeat in this first match of the 2023 World Cup (September 8 – October 28) for his team would not be crippling for the rest of the competition, as was the case for the Springboks at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
“A final” according to Cheslin Kolbe
“Winning the first match of a World Cup does not necessarily mean that you will end up winning or losing the World Cup. It’s just history and it’s good, it writes this history”he estimated. “But it has no influence, it will just take a little pressure off us or it will add to it”, pointed out Nienaber. Defending champions, the Springboks are among the favorites for this competition, which is not necessarily to the taste of their coach.
“It has no influence on us. Whether we are favorites or not will not make us better than Scotland or not. I understand the concept and it’s part of the story but only our preparation will affect this match.he retorted. “The game against Scotland will be a final for us because we are in a difficult poolwinger Cheslin Kolbe told AFP. We will concentrate on our preparation for this important match”.
“We are defending champions but that was four years ago. To reproduce this requires a lot of sacrifice, hard work and cohesion between all team members. We want to make our country proud of us and create memories”, added the former Toulouse and Toulon player. South Africa, after competing against Scotland, will face Romania (September 17), Ireland (September 23) and Tonga (October 1).
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