Former Springbok fullback Percy Montgomery and now the team's kicking coach has admitted that the Springboks have not been playing well enough.
Montgomery's statements are in direct contrast to Springbok Head Coach Peter de Villiers' comments as he has blamed the referees for his team's losses and even suggested that there is a conspiracy to create more excitement in New Zealand ahead of the World Cup.
Montgomery has reminded Springbok fans that in the past Bok teams have always had to be on top of their game in order to win overseas.
"I understand the pressures from back home and the players are just as frustrated as the fans. We just need to hang in there. " Montgomery told Supersport.
"People must remember you don't just win overseas, you really have to be on top of your game and, to be honest, we haven't been," Montgomery said.
"When you win overseas, you're not playing with 14 men and you're not missing tackles."
This year Springboks have experienced what their opponents experienced last year as they have played both of their matches away from home. Last year the Springboks played their first three matches in South Africa and won all three.
This year the Springboks have played two away from home and lost two and the defeats have knocked the reputations of the likes of John Smit, Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana, Schalk Burger, Pierre Spies and Morne Steyn.
Two months ago they were all absolute heroes when they contested the Super 14 final.
Montgomery however says that it is unfair to write off the Springboks so soon.
"It's not about the players being too old - Os du Randt and I had the same thing said about us before 2007."
"The players need the fans' backing and there are some big tests coming up at home. This is just a wake-up call, the same thing happened to us in 2006. The players will come back more hungry," Montgomery said.
Montgomery is the Springboks highest ever points scorer and he says that the team's problem is not so much that they have the wrong game plan but that they are not executing it properly.
"Our out-of-hand kicking has been the big difference this year. Last year it was spot-on but this year it's completely the reverse, the All Blacks are doing exactly what we did.
"The kicking by us has been poor, we've just been kicking the ball away and giving away possession. The accuracy has been poor and the kick-chase is also most important," Montgomery said.
"There's not too much wrong with our game, we mustn't just chuck things away after two losses. The tactics are right, it's just the execution we need to sharpen up."
The Springboks game plan over the last three years has been to kick the ball away and attack teams receiving the ball but Montgomery.
"We have kicked way too much, we have to know when to kick. We'll definitely carry the ball a lot more on Saturday," he said.
"The Australians have Cooper and Giteau at 10 and 12 and they are serious steppers, so that's one area we're going to have to really look at."
Quade Cooper and Matt Giteau are some of the world's best game breakers and Montgomery says he expects the Wallabies to focus on a ball-in-hand approach
"They're not just going to kick, it's a young backline, they'll want to attack a lot, so we'll need to be very sharp on defence," Montgomery said.
Having conceded 63 points to the All Blacks and having scored just 29 points the Springboks already have a points deficit of 34 points.
The All Blacks have taken maximum points from their two matches against the Boks after scoring four tries in both matches compared to the Springboks two tries in as many matches.
It was the first time since 2002 that the Springboks have conceded a four-try bonus point twice in a row for the first time since 2002 and Montgomery admits that the coaching staff were annoyed with the weak defence.
"Defence is a huge part of our game and obviously we need to work a lot harder on it. Defence wins championships, big hits are a big part of our game and we don't want to move away from that.
"It's just a wake-up call that's needed because it's never easy playing with 14 men, your defence is definitely disrupted, especially if you lose your biggest guy. You can't afford silly things like two yellow cards."
Montgomery adds that although there is a mountain for the Springboks to climb there is still enough skill in the Springbok team to claim their first victory in Brisbane since 1971.
"I don't know how people can say we are less skilful than last year. We beat New Zealand and Australia and they said we kicked too much."






















.jpg)




