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- The Springboks are confident their goal-kickers will produce more accurate showings.
- Elton Jantjies and Handre Pollard are rough around the edges because of a lack of rugby this year, said Bok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick.
- The Boks' rugby calendar bursts into life after the series decider in Cape Town.
The Springboks are not making excuses for their inaccuracy in front of the posts over the past two weeks against Wales, but there is an understanding that they are not at their best.
The Springboks and their Welsh counterparts have the series deadlocked at a win-a-side and its winner-takes-all after referee Matthew Carley blows the final whistle on Saturday.
Assistant coach Mzawandile Stick, together with his coaching box, would have observed some unimpressive goal-kicking displays from their trusted flyhalves in Pretoria and Bloemfontein.
A capacity Loftus Versfeld and millions watching at home also saw how unsettled Elton Jantjies was in the first Test against Wales and how Handre Pollard was not up to standard in Bloemfontein last week either.
Stick, though, knows he's got a safe pair of hands in both players and knows they will be firing in no time after getting valuable minutes on the training and playing field.
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The Bok top brass has been at pains to say that both their 10s haven't played a lot of rugby this year. However, being the professionals that they are, Stick cannot wait to see them at their best.
"There's nothing we can do [about their absence from rugby], the best we can do is to give them an opportunity to be on the field," Stick remarked on Friday ahead of the 3rd Test decider.
Springboks
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Trevor Nyakane
Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Elrigh Louw, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Willie le Roux
Wales
15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar (captain), 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Gareth Thomas
Substitutes: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 Josh Navidi, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Owen Watkin
"We understand they are not at their best in terms of goal-kicking, but I cannot wait for things to go according to plan," continued Stick.
"Handre Pollard is a confidence player. On his day, he'll win you a World Cup."
There is also Jantjies, who has often been a second-half secret attacking weapon for the Boks in crunch matches (think both wins vs All Blacks in 2018 and 2021); and his attacking sharpness against Scotland last year.
He's spent much of this year doing rehabilitation in Cape Town and has steered clear of culpability in a flight scandal.
Much was made about Pollard's original omission after the 28-year-old helped Montpellier to the French Top14 title last month. He returned as captain of last week's side and retained his place this weekend as well.
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Stick added that Loftus match-winner Damian Willemse (starting at 15 on Saturday) is also someone being trained to kick at posts regularly.
Following this weekend's decider, the Boks' calendar ramps up with The Rugby Championship kicking off on 6 August against the All Blacks in Nelspruit.
