Springboks assistant coach Mzwandile Stick has praised winger Kurt-Lee Arendse’s fine performance and disagrees with those who say the Boks have picked a B-team against Australia.
The Springboks kicked off their Rugby Championship campaign with a comprehensive 43-12 bonus point win over Australia at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday night.
Two first-half tries from winger Kurt-Lee Arendse saw Jacques Nienaber’s charges take a comfortable 17-5 lead at the interval in front of a packed venue.
In the second half, the Springboks were on song with Arendse continuing where he left off in the first stanza as he bagged himself a hat trick.
Two penalty tries and one from Pieter-Steph du Toit were enough for the Boks on the night.
Stick believes they have to try all the combinations if they want to win the World Cup.
“We trust everyone that is in the squad. The honest truth from my side is that don’t like it when people disrespect the Springbok emblem, and say we have selected a B-team,” said assistant coach Mzwandile Stick.
“I’m just glad and I hope people are now starting to believe in what we are trying to do here as a team.
“Because once again, if you want to win a World Cup you have to trust the people around you and start giving people opportunities. I’m just glad that Kurt-Lee stood out today and did well against the best players in the world. The team as a whole did well and I am pleased with their performance.”

Duane Vermeulen congratulates Kurt-Lee Arendse after scoring one of his three tries against Australia
Arendse also walked away with a Man of the Match with his fine form.
Nienaber has also named a group of 21 players to join their team-mates in New Zealand for next week’s second outing against New Zealand in Auckland bringing the total number of players to 35.
The group includes Duane Vermeulen, Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, and backs Manie Libbok, Lukhanyo Am, Cobus Reinach and Grant Williams.
Additional Springbok players travelling to New Zealand:
Forwards: Thomas du Toit (prop), Pieter-Steph du Toit (loose forward), Deon Fourie (utility forward), Steven Kitshoff (prop), Jean Kleyn (lock), Vincent Koch (prop) Frans Malherbe (prop), Bongi Mbonambi (hooker), Trevor Nyakane (prop), RG Snyman (lock), Marco van Staden (flank), Duane Vermeulen (No 8).
Backs: Lukhanyo Am (centre), Kurt-Lee Arendse (wing), Andre Esterhuizen (centre), Herschel Jantjies (scrumhalf), Willie le Roux (fullback), Manie Libbok (flyhalf), Cobus Reinach (scrumhalf), Damian Willemse (utility back), Grant Williams (scrumhalf).