Springboks Scrum Guru: We Don’t Focus On Records, Just On The Next Game
Springbok scrum coach Daan Human played down any disruption to the camp following a mass exodus of players, saying it would not be any different from other Tests, given the team’s habit of rotating the squad.
Human, who is being hailed as a guru for his ability to take the Springbok pack to a level rarely seen before, is the man behind turning the Rugby World Cup champions into undeniably the best pack in the world.
Asked about losing many players, including key front-rowers, Human said, “We basically play with different teams or make a lot of changes week in and week out, so we are used to it.”
The former Springbok prop, who had stints with the Stormers and Toulouse, continued, “The good thing is that it presents another opportunity for some of the younger players because we have guys available, who played last week against Ireland and others who played against Italy, so there is no one new in the travelling squad.”
The Springboks, who have cemented their number one world ranking – while Wales find themselves outside the top 10 – come into the game as unquestionable favourites, winning the Rugby Championship and going unbeaten thus far in the Quilter Nations Series.
Despite this, Human, true to the respectable and humble approach adopted by the Springbok camp, refuted that claim and said the team never thinks along those lines.
“I don’t believe in the favourites tag. It doesn’t help a team. You must have respect for the opposition, so we’ll do our best to prepare as well as we can for this match.”
Human, who moved into coaching following the end of his playing career with stints at the Cheetahs and Bulls, was brought into the Springbok setup in 2020 and was a huge contributor in the Springboks winning the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The Rugby World Cup champions delivered a brutal display of scrumming this past weekend against Ireland, winning six scrum penalties – including one that led to a penalty try – as they were victorious at the Aviva Stadium for the first time since 2012.
It was so brutal that it drew plaudits from former Ireland loose forward Alan Quinlan, who said the Springboks “went for blood,” and “I’ve never seen a scrum like that. They’re phenomenal.”
With Human responsible for turning the Bok scrum into a juggernaut, making light work of Ireland’s impressive pack, the scrum coach was careful not to get ahead of himself with a grounded response we can all attest to.
“My father always says, don’t tell me what you are going to do, tell me what you’ve done, so we’ll see what happens.”
Despite Wales’ poor form and facing squad depletion themselves, Human gave respectable insight into their ability.
“Wales have quality players, especially their starting front row, and in general they have guys who can really perform and some with a lot of experience, quite similar to our team.”
Rugby Championship winners South Africa are looking down the barrel of a second consecutive unbeaten end-of-year tour. Following last year’s 45-12 victory over Wales in Cardiff, coach Human insisted their focus was on the next game and not on chasing records.
“We set goals at the beginning of the year, and there’s only one game left, so it would be a great achievement if we can get it right,” he explained. “We don’t think about records and being unbeaten; we simply focus on the next game.”
Coach Rassie Erasmus will name his 23-man squad on Thursday.
