Boks ready to grind out victory against Wallabies in Cape Town

THE Springboks are ready to win ugly, if necessary, in their second Rugby Championship Test against Australia tomorrow in Cape Town.

- LEIGHTON KOΟΡΜΑΝ

While they've steadily progressed on attack under assistant coach Tony Brown, the Boks’ strength has always been their ability to use their forwards in a power game to subdue opponents. From there, space opens up for their backs to work their magic and score tries.

More recently, and much to the delight of supporters, they've been utilizing a running rugby blueprint alongside their forward dominance.

While it has brought spectacular tries, the ease with which they sometimes score has led them to take their foot off the accelerator. That allows the opposition to claw their way back into the game — something that has already happened twice this season.

The most recent example was against the Wallabies at Ellis Park, when the visitors came from 22-0 down to win 38-22. Before that, Italy mounted a strong fightback at Loftus Versfeld in July, but the Boks managed to stave off their less-fancied opponents on that occasion. Australia, however, is a different kettle of fish, and they showed why the Boks can’t afford to rest on their laurels.