Boks look for 'World Cup' momentum

Springbok captain John Smit said his team's back-to-back victories, over the All Blacks and the Wallabies, in the last two weeks may provide his side with the momentum they will need going into next year's World Cup tournament in France.

Speaking after the Boks beat the Wallabies 24-16 on a sunny spring afternoon at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, Smit said he was happy that his team had managed to turn around a "forgettable" Tri-Nations tournament.

After losing their first four matches of the tournament - including a 49-0 hammering against Australia, along with 45-26 and 35-17 defeats against New Zealand - the South Africans bounced back to win the last two games.

First there was the 21-20 triumph against the All Blacks last week and then Saturday's 24-16 win - which certainly lifted much of the doom and gloom that enveloped South African rugby in the past few months - following a five-match losing streak.

"We wanted to finish on a high note," Smit said in his post-match reaction.

"It certainly was a Tri-Nations for us to forget, but I'm glad the boys stuck in there and came back to win the last two games ... after what was quite a tough start," the Bok captain said.

When asked if the last two weeks would give his team some momentum, Smit said momentum is vital for any team.

"I hope this is the beginning of something good towards the World Cup," he said. "We only have 12 months to go [to the World Cup].

"They [the last two victories] are paramount to us going forward in the next 12 months. I think momentum is everything for any team going into the world cup.

"We have a big break to out next international, which is in November [against Ireland, before back-to-back tests against England].

"Everything from now is how we build towards the World Cup, which is going to be vital."

He also praised some of the new players - like Pierre Spies, Akona Ndungane, JP Pietersen, Ruan Pienaar and Wynand Olivier - who made their debuts this year.

"It is certainly great to see the young guys put up their hands, and some of the old boys still keeping the show alive on the field.

"This has certainly been educational. There were times that I thought this would go terribly wrong. But from now on every time on a Saturday before a match, the guys will put this into perspective," said Smit.

Bok coach Jake White was equally delighted at having seen his team turn things around, after what was without doubt one of the all-time lows in Bok rugby this year.

"I'm very relieved," White said.

"It's been difficult for us, not just this week, but the whole Tri-Nations campaign. We didn't get off to a good start, we had a very tough draw.

"But all credit to everybody, not many teams have been lower than we've been in the last two months, and for them to come back and beat the All Blacks and the Wallabies and score 21 points in the second-half [at Ellis Park on Saturday] just shows exactly how talented they really are.

"These have been difficult times for the team. The captain has been under pressure and I believe a lot has been learnt from what we've achieved in the past two weeks. After beating the All Blacks it didn't get easier for us.

"I won't say that we were in control because we had our chances but didn't finish them. All the work was done by the forwards in the first half, but all that effort came through in the second half," said White.

He felt his team had also overcome a huge mental block.

"We haven't done things differently, it was just a psychological thing. Most sides would have thrown in the towel [after five successive defeats and a 49-0 hammering], for us this is a major feat. There are huge amounts of positives in team selection going forward to the World Cup."