The Springboks’ engine is being fine-tuned ahead of their Test against France in Paris on Saturday (10.05 pm).
Having failed to make the most of their chances in their 12-11 defeat to England at Twickenham last weekend, it’s the adjustment to the northern-hemisphere game that means the Boks have to tweak their approach a bit.
Midfielder Damian de Allende, who was one of the best players for the Boks at Twickenham, says: “The coaches put a lot of emphasis on preparation and we work hard during training camps and obviously fine-tune our game plan in the week leading up to a Test.
“Our approach to the matches up in the northern hemisphere has also changed a bit because you have to respect the conditions in Europe and the way the game is played up here.
“We learnt a lot from the Test that we lost against England in Cape Town in June, in very wet conditions.
“I think we are getting there, and we are working on how to vary our game so that we can constantly look for opportunities on the field.
“We are focussing on ourselves and where we can rectify the mistakes we made against England so that we can improve and play better against France.”