South Africa coach Allister Coetzee vowed Monday that the defensive “chaos” of last season will not reoccur when they host France during June in a three-Test series.
“It was chaos last year,” admitted the coach of his debut season in which the Springboks conceded 35 tries in losing a record eight of 12 Tests.
Fifteen of those tries were scored by New Zealand, the greatest rugby rivals of South Africa, including nine in Durban.
Coetzee is banking on new defence coach and former Springbok centre Brendan Venter to plug the gaping holes of last season.
“Brendan has worked overseas for a long time and has a good knowledge of many things related to rugby coaching, particularly the building of a defensive system.
“There will be a big improvement in our defence this year,” he predicted during a three-day training camp in western Cape university town Stellenbosch.
Venter has coached in varying roles with the Western Stormers and Coastal Sharks in South Africa and London Irish and Saracens in England.
He was the Italy defence coach in the Six Nations championship this year and credited with the no-ruck ploy that initially baffled England at Twickenham.
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