RG Snyman's barnstormer advances his cause as Boks enter quarters

RG Snyman put aside personal ambition and briefly spoke on behalf of the collective after his starring role in the second row in the Springboks’ victory over Canada.

The Boks beat Canada 66-7 in a pool B match at the Rugby World Cup (RWC) with the man mountain second rower scooping the man of the match award.

Asked whether he did enough to get noticed by coach Rassie Erasmus for possible inclusion in the starting team for the knockout stages‚ Snyman was coy.

“All of us just do our own job and that is the way we go.”

As the tallest Springbok in the squad at 2.07m the rampaging Snyman was hard to miss.

After ghosting into gaps Snyman carried the ball with gusto while his one-handed offload often found a teammate running a good support line.

“It’s something else but I do enjoy it and I must say well done to Elton [Jantjies] for putting me in the hole‚” said Snyman.

“I put some work in‚” he said about honing his skills to offload in the tackle. “It is something I always try and improve‚” he said before conceding that holding the ball in one hand has its drawbacks. “It also makes you more vulnerable to lose the ball.”

Erasmus praised Snyman’s performance but kept reminding that this was a good performance against a 14-man Canada.

“It was a good performance for the whole team. I think there are also a couple of things to work on going forward‚” said Snyman.

“We couldn’t get our maul going‚” he said about the Boks’ inability to match Canada back from the lineout. “They defended really well‚ especially with one man down. That is something we need to get better at.”

He was also disappointed the Boks lost their shape in the second half. “The game got a bit loose in the second half. They capitalised on it a bit. Also‚ [we conceded] a couple of penalties in the second half.”

There were mitigating circumstances for playing with less conviction in the second half.

“It was more difficult‚” said Snyman when asked whether the ball was easier to handle than in previous matches.

“Playing under the roof the ball was more slippery as you saw in the second half.

“Things came off for us [in the first half]. It showed and it was fun being out there.”