The Springboks today warned the Lions that they intended to muscle up in the second Test at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday after blowing up in the final 25 minutes last weekend. Dick Muir, the South Africa assistant coach who masterminded the Emerging Springboks' draw against the Lions earlier this week, admitted his side were fortunate to be one up in the series after nearly blowing a commanding lead.
"The Lions showed what a good team they are when they have possession and they finished very strongly in Durban," said Muir. "They varied their game nicely and will have felt unlucky not to have won.
"We are going to have to be more physical in Pretoria. It is the South African way and we have guys who like confrontation. When it gets messy up front, we know that we can match any side. We have to get our big forwards involved from the start and make sure that we control the game.
"We gave away too much possession in Durban and did not take control. That allowed the Lions to gain some momentum, so the more physical the game is, the better it will be for us."
The Springboks are concerned at the media attention that has been lavished on last weekend's man of the match, the loose-head prop Tendai 'The Beast' Mtawarira. They have been besieged by demands for interviews with the front rower this week and agreed to make him available today.
However, Mtawarira was kept away from the notebooks and cameras as the South Africa management tried to get attention diverted elsewhere. With the Lions opting for their bulkiest tight five, with Simon Shaw packing down in the second row behind Adam Jones to make a combined weight of 40st, the Beast faces his biggest test in his short international career.
Muir was more concerned with South Africa's midfield defence, which often resembled a parting of the waves in Durban. "We did not do well as a unit," he said. "We let ourselves down in that area and we have worked hard on it this week and I am confident we have sorted out all the issues.
"It all comes down to controlling possession. We will be looking to shut them out from the first-phase perspective and when they get their phases going, we will be ready for them physically. We cannot allow them to cut holes again."
The Springboks arrived in Johannesburg on Monday to prepare for the game while the Lions will remain in Cape Town until tomorrow when they will fly to Pretoria to minimise the effects of playing at altitude. But while the weather inland has been dry and sunny, the Western Cape has taken a battering rain and high winds.
"We are not sorry that the Lions have been training in the wet," said Muir, "but we have not thought about their travel plans. We are more focused on the job at hand, but when we heard they were staying in Cape Town, we thought it was a mistake on their part.
"We know what it's like to come from sea level to altitude. Over the period there have been some great sides that have come from the coast and performed up here. It's a factor but it's not one that we can rest on and take as a given that it's going to affect them badly."
