South Africa hooker Vincent Koch is expecting to take on an ‘angry’ Ireland team, when the Springboks collide with Andy Farrell’s side next month. South Africa host Ireland for a two match series (6th and 13th of July) with redemption expected to be on the mind for the touring side.
Koch believes that the Irish team will be hurting and eager for revenge. The front-rower put this down to how a majority of the Ireland squad played in Leinster’s recent United Rugby Championship semi-final defeat to the Bulls, as well as the haunting exit of the Rugby World Cup quarter-final.
“Now, the thing is, I mean, if you look at their team, there’s world class players. Most of them play for Leinster as well, they’ve probably been hurting from the Bulls loss. So there’ll be angry and playing in South Africa, there’s always some massive competition or a massive challenge for them as well.
“So I think it’s going to be unbelievable tests. Like I said previously, I think they’re going to be very angry as well to justify what happened to them in the World Cup. So we just have to be at our very best to perform on the day and get the result.”
Koch spoke to RUCK in the media mix zone at Twickenham Stadium, after the Springboks won the Qatar Airways Trophy following a 41-13 triumph over Wales. Despite the score-line reading a rather one-sided contest, the first half was far from convincing, as Warren Gatland’s men trialled the Boks by just one point at the half-time break (14-13).
However, three unanswered tries for the Springboks, coupled with the sharpshooting of Jordan Henrikse and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, took the green and gold to glory at the home of English rugby. Koch expressed how it was good to brush off the cobwebs for South Africa’s first win of the season, yet is expecting a more well-rounded performance against Ireland’s tougher test.
“We’ve got the first one of the season. Things don’t go as planned, or didn’t go perfect. You know, but we’ve got two more weeks to go back and work hard on that. But we’re looking forward to Ireland. I think there’s a good rivalry between those two. I think it’s going to be unbelievable Test matches in South Africa. It’s going to be a proper competition, yeah, looking forward to the competition.”
“The thing is, we’ve got to be more direct, and just man up pretty much. The thing is, we were maybe a bit lethargic in the end of the first half. The coaching staff just said, ‘we have to turn it up a gear’. I think the guys who came off the bench and even the guys who played 80 minutes, they did exactly that. I think the first three minutes after halftime, we scored a try. So that’s just great to see the boys reaction off the half time chat. That’s exactly what the Springboks are.”
A stand-out performance for the Springboks came from Edwill van der Merwe, who was awarded the Player of the Match upon his first South Africa test match start. The Emirates Lions wing lit up Twickenham with a blistering display of pace, and capped off his performance with a stunning solo try. Koch expressed how impressed he was by the flyer, and how he hopes to see more performances like that from van der Merwe in the future.
“He’s unbelievable. It’s nice to see the young guys, take their opportunities and he did that today, you know, doing everything that they asked him to do. And of course, finish off with a try and a Man of the Match performance. So I think it’s an ideal debut. Class that Rassie’s (Erasmus) given him that.
“But, the way that he played throughout the URC allowed him to get a call up. Like I said, there’s maybe an injury or two that gave him this spot today, but he took it with both hands. I’m just happy for the young guys to step up and show what they can do.”
Koch has made a recent habit from winning trophies in London, as he added his Qatar Airways Cup winners medal to his kit bag. The hooker was an integral part of the Hollywoodbets Sharks side that won the EPCR Challenge Cup, and dominated Gloucester at scrum-time in the final. As the Challenge Cup Final took place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Koch has enjoyed his recent run of matches in the English capital with both club and country triumphs.
“Of course, as you know, those Sharks didn’t have a great first start of the season but we hit our goals mid season again and said ‘Listen, we want to win the Challenge Cup’. And doing that in London was unbelievable, great atmosphere and getting the sharks to play at Tottenham.
“The thing is, every game you just have to evolve. If it’s for your club team or the Springboks, you just have to get better every game. So I think this is a good start for us. I know that the boys will be definitely better against Ireland, and more hungry as well.
The Springboks are steadily making Twickenham into a ‘home away from home’, through their successful retention of the Qatar Airways Cup. The trophy was first competed for at Twickenham last August, when the Springboks handed the All Blacks their heaviest ever defeat (35-7) on the run-up to their reunion in the Rugby World Cup Final.
South Africa have since added Wales to their list of defeated opponents at the stadium known as ‘HQ’, and Koch is hoping for more opportunities for the Springboks to play at the home of English rugby.
“Unbelievable, it’s an unbelievable stadium. It’s one of the best in the world. And we’re just fortunate to play different teams in different countries, and at this venue. It’s a perfect place to play rugby, the pitch is good, the ground is unbelievable. We’re just fortunate to actually get two wins. But everyone is happy, we love it here. And hopefully we can play a few more games (here).”