South Africa coach Mzwandile Stick invites Lions to play 'touch rugby'
South Africa fire one last shot at the Lions ahead of decider with coach Mzwandile Stick inviting tourists to play ‘touch rugby’ in a jibe at Warren Gatland’s comments over world champions’ style of play
- Warren Gatland insisted South Africa prefer a slow, set-piece-dominated game
- But Springboks assistant coach Mzwandile Stick has now responded defiantly
- Stick invited the tourists to play ‘touch rugby’ ahead of this weekend’s decider
- World champions South Africa insisted they will not change a winning formula
The Springboks fired one final shot at the Lions before the series decider by inviting the tourists to play ‘touch rugby’.
Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick responded defiantly to Warren Gatland’s comments that South Africa prefer to play a slow, set-piece-dominated game.
The world champions vowed to play to their strengths and insisted they would not change their winning formula.
South Africa assistant coach Mzwandile Stick (above) invited the Lions to play ‘touch rugby’
‘If the Lions want to lift the tempo then that is their plan and if we want to slow the game down and make it “boring” then we’ll do that,’ said Stick.
‘Other people are saying “boring rugby” from the outside. We don’t go into a game intentionally trying to slow things down. People must understand that the TMO is part of the game and if it takes two minutes to make a decision, unfortunately that’s not in our control.
‘If the Lions want to play touch rugby, that would be nice for us and they’re more than welcome to do so. We’re not going to decide what they do and also they’re not going to tell us how to play the game.’
Stick’s views were echoed by Bok captain Siya Kolisi. His team have come under fire for failing to entertain throughout the series but the camp have adopted a siege mentality.
Stick responded to Warren Gatland’s comments that South Africa prefer to play a slow game
South Africa’s camp has adopted a siege mentality ahead of the series decider this weekend
‘We play what’s in front of us,’ said Kolisi. ‘Whatever is happening in the game, if there are niggles we can’t leave a man behind. That’s what we believe in.
‘We haven’t changed our plans. We are still playing the same way we did – that’s who we are.
‘We can’t run away from that. We’re South Africans and it works for us. It’s like us looking at another team that’s winning and complaining about how they’re playing.
‘I can’t do that, they’re winning. Are you going to join them or learn from them? We can’t change who we are.’
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