‘We really wanted to lay a marker ahead of the World Cup’ – Duane Vermeulen

Veteran Springbok number eight Duane Vermeulen couldn’t hide his delight after his team’s emphatic 35-7 victory over the All Blacks on Friday and said they are now fully focused on their upcoming Rugby World Cup campaign.

The world champions will start the defence of their title against Scotland in Marseille on September 10 and Vermeulen said it was important that the Boks ended their World Cup warm-up campaign on a high note.

The record-breaking win over the All Blacks came after another similar record-breaking triumph over Wales on August 19 – when the Boks scored their most points and won by their biggest margin (52-16) in Cardiff – representing a double mission accomplished for Jacques Nienaber‘s troops.

“We really wanted to lay a marker down going into the World Cup and we wanted to show each other what lies inside every single person,” Vermeulen told the Springboks’ official website.

“We played for one another, and it was a fantastic result for us.

“It was our biggest margin over New Zealand so it was a good one and good preparation – but it’s now just the start of the World Cup and hopefully we can go into it with a bit of confidence.”

The 37-year-old was one of seven forwards who were replaced early in the second half as the Springboks outscored their arch rivals by five tries to one at a packed Twickenham.

However, that result is a thing of the past and Vermeulen said they have already turned their attentions to Gregor Townsend’s Scotland side.

“We made mistakes [against New Zealand] and there were a couple of things that didn’t go our way – discipline was one of them,” he said.

“We got a yellow card and penalties can make you lose a game, so we have to sharpen up on that.

“I think there’s still a lot in the tank. We’ve got to prepare well for our first game against Scotland. All the focus is on Scotland from this moment on.”

South Africa’s triumph over New Zealand was sweet revenge after the All Blacks clinched a 35-20 win in their Rugby Championship clash earlier this year.

“We really wanted to play a full 80 after the last time we met, and I think the guys really played their part,” said Vermeulen.

“Our last game against New Zealand wasn’t great and our first 20 minutes was our worst performance against New Zealand ever. They capitalised on our mistakes.

“This week we’d worked on all those small things that didn’t go well. This is one step in the right direction – there are still one or two little things that we can tweak. The coaches are happy and the team’s really happy with the performance and hopefully we can build on that.”

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