RUGBY-ARGENTINA/SPRINGBOKS Stunned South Africa can still win Rugby World Cup, says captain

Record ID: 143891

  • Title: RUGBY-ARGENTINA/SPRINGBOKS Stunned South Africa can still win Rugby World Cup, says captain
  • Date: 14th August 2015
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (AUGUST 14, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SOUTH AFRICAN TEAM THE SPRINGBOKS ARRIVING AT TRAINING GROUND VARIOUS OF SPRINGBOKS WARMING UP SOUTH AFRICA CAPTAIN, VICTOR MATFIELD, LEADING WARMUP (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOUTH AFRICA CAPTAIN, VICTOR MATFIELD, SAYING: "We really believe we can win it (the World Cup) but our confidence is a bit down at the momen
  • Embargoed: 29th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAOCYLXE43FD7QJXOJ40RJL17R
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: South Africa can recover from last weekend's shock defeat by Argentina in Durban by going on to win the World Cup, Captain Victor Matfield said on Friday (August 14).
    The experienced lock, who will lead the side against the Pumas on Saturday in their last test before the September 18-October 31 tournament, told Reuters the Springboks were raring to get on the field at Velez Sarsfield to make amends.
    "We really believe we can win it (the World Cup) but our confidence is a bit down at the moment. You could see this week the guys just want to get out there, they want to change things around, they want to get a good performance under their belts before we go to the World Cup. So, this is a very important game for us and hopefully we can get a try tomorrow," Matfield said in an interview at the team's hotel in Buenos Aires.
    "I know it isn't going to be easy. I know the Argentines got a lot of confidence out of last week, they know they can beat us, so it's not going to be easy. They are going to be at home. I think it will be a packed stadium after last week's performance, they'll have the whole country behind them, so is not going to be easy. The weather looks like it's going to be wet and cold as well so that will make it more difficult as well but again, we just need to go out there and do the things we want to do, execute our plan, be accurate in what we want to do and hopefully we will get the result as well," Matfield added.
    Argentina beat South Africa for the first time last Saturday (August 8), a surprise 37-25 Rugby Championship defeat that left the Springboks with the wooden spoon in the southern hemisphere tournament after they had run Australia and New Zealand close.
    Matfield knows that preventing the Pumas from upsetting them again will not be easy but hopes South African pride and efficiency can come to the fore again.
    "We are a very proud rugby nation, South Africa, and we expect to win every game we play in our country and we didn't perform well so there's a lot of pressure on the team. It's a World Cup year, there's a lot of expectation from all our fans, all our supporters back in South Africa, so we know we disappointed our country last week and we want to rectify that this week. We really believe we are a team that can win the World Cup but we need to show that on the park tomorrow and we need to go out and have a very good performance," he said.
    Matfield recognised the quality of the Pumas, who had lost 18 and drawn one of their previous 19 meetings with South Africa but had run them close in both encounters in last year's Rugby Championship.
    "We had two games against Australia and New Zealand where we thought we played very well, the guys were very confident, maybe a little overconfident and we went into the game. They (Argentina) did a few things right: they stopped our momentum and I think there was probably a little bit of panic in the team, we couldn't get our momentum back in the game and that put us under pressure. But again, we have to give credit where credit is due. I think the Argentines played really well, they scrummed very well, they put a lot of penalties, they stopped our momentum we couldn't get over the advantage line, it was a tough day for us," he said.
    "When you play the Argentines it's a bit different from playing Australia and New Zealand, it's a more open type of game, but I think that's also what we're going to face at the World Cup when you play England, when you play Italy, Ireland, Wales, so it was a good learning curve for us last week and hopefully we can get things right this week," Matfield added.
    England, Wales or Australia, all in a tough Pool A, are potential quarter-final opponents for South Africa who are in Pool B with Samoa, Japan, United States and Scotland.
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