The Suncorp Stadium reunion of red-hot Queensland halves Will Genia and Quade Cooper has the Springboks on edge ahead of Saturday night’s must-win Tri-Nations clash.
Genia’s return from a broken hand to partner Reds teammate Cooper for the first time from the start of a Tri-Nations Test has not only lifted the confidence of the Wallabies but also helped force a change in South Africa’s plans.
The Springboks, desperate for victory following two losses to New Zealand, identified the Queensland pair as major threats on their home ground where they were the most exciting and dangerous players in the Reds’ Super 14 resurgence.
Since then Genia and five-eighth Cooper have only played one Test together, when the halfback broke his hand early in the surprise 21-20 loss to England in Sydney.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans was on Tuesday reluctant to bring back all of his players returning from injury at the same time, leaving hooker Stephen Moore on the bench and also overlooking rangy flanker Scott Higginbotham and winger Cameron Shepherd.
But the Genia-Cooper playmaking combination adds an extra dimension to the Australian attacking game.
To combat it, Springboks coach Peter de Villiers has taken a selection gamble by choosing specialist No.8 Ryan Kankowski at flanker in one four changes to make his side as fast as possible.
De Villiers noted their 2010 statistics showed the Brisbane ground, where the Springboks have lost their past six matches, was the quickest in the southern hemisphere.
“Of all the Super 14 teams and the surfaces that are used this is rated the quickest one,” he said.
“We know they can run the ball and they are very quick across the field so we opt to bring some speed into our team.”
A major reason for such an assessment of the venue must be put down to the efforts of the Reds backline, and Kankowski and halfback inclusion Ruan Pienaar admitted Genia and Cooper were central.
Pienaar said the mercurial Cooper’s bag of tricks made the Wallabies more unpredictable than the All Blacks.
“I thought (Genia) was the best No.9 in the Super 14 and he was outstanding together with Quade Cooper so it’s a big challenge for not only myself but the whole team to have our eye on him,” Pienaar said.
“He and Quade have for a year or two together and they have gelled and I thought they really led the Reds team well this year.
“(Cooper) brings something new. We all know he’s a good stepper and he’s got great feet and he’s got those funny kicks so he’s a good all-round player so we have to watch him all around.”
The Australian Super 14 player of the year, Cooper’s best moments were produced against South African rivals and he hinted it was due to their extra size up front.
“The South African packs are big and massive and it makes it a bit easier to move around when you are facing such a big pack like that,” he said, adding it would be a massive test of his defence.
“Having a big, fast and physical back-row, I’m sure I’ll have to bring my shoulder pads this weekend.”
Prop Benn Robinson (broken forearm) and lock Nathan Sharpe (shoulder) return along with Genia while the unavailability of Digby Ioane and Peter Hynes has seen winger Drew Mitchell recalled a fortnight after he was dumped from the 30-man squad.
Deans has also switched James O’Connor and Adam Ashley-Cooper with Ashley-Cooper reinstated at fullback to counter Springboks flyhalf Morne Steyn’s big kicking game.
Warren
Guest
Can't argue with that MT
darwin stubby
Guest
no real surprise he showed some form of remorse .... he was in serious trouble ... and as for restitution - well that really what it's all about isn't it ... I've no doubt the QRU were involved - supplying the large envelope the $ were in
MarkR
Guest
Actually BigFlippingbeer it's a great solution for someone who hasn't got a record & is showing all the requirement of remorse, restitution, etc. One of the ABs got this a while back for an incident outside a Dunedin nighclub if I remember correctly, in NZ they call it 'Diversion' but it's implemented by the courts (I think) & has to be supported by the police. It stops someone making a 'relatively' minor mistake & ruining their career/life by having a conviction recorded. You'd expect the QRU to be involved in some way even if just providing him with the knowledge of what steps to follow, he's their employee & you'd hope they'd support him given this appears to be out of character.
darwin stubby
Guest
in other words the victims were approached and paid off .... which is standard practice for the footballing "elite", with quite possibly the QRU and ARU being involved somewhere along the line ...
Karlos
Guest
No it's the same one that carved up the Stormers and the Bulls. The ref carved up the Wallabies in the second test.
reds fan
Guest
they went to mediation, which i believe is managed by an adjunct of the courts and can only be entered into with the blessing of the victim, accused and the police/prosecutor. a "satisfactory" outcome was reached and therefore charges were withdrawn (which doesn't mean dropped, dropped is when the police can't mount a sufficient case). this is my understanding of the process.
Rusty
Roar Guru
Is this the same red hot halves combination that carved England up in the second test?
ohtani's jacket
Guest
The Boks' approach will be interesting to watch. They started off the Test in Wellington trying to put two or three players into the tackle and I thought Burger was quite prominant in the early going, but it kind of lead to Danie Rossouw being sinbinned because they were a little too fired up. It was interesting that later on the All Blacks were able to produce some telling counter rucking and that one turnover where they held the Bok up off the ground and stripped the ball from him. I'm fairly convinced that the days of scavaging are over and that tackling is the most important factor under the new interpretations and to that extent I'd like to see how Pocock changes his game, but sides are probably better off making their first up tackles at first and saving the counter rucking attempts for later especially since the ref will be whistle happy in the beginning.
MarkR
Guest
OJ - actually you made me think about the change in tackling between the first Wales test & the last Bok test. Interesting that they only went for the 'hold the ball up' tackle once in the 2nd Bok test. I'll be interested to see how both the Boks & Wallabies go in the r&m offence/defence on Sat ngiht. I noticed the Boks had a habit of having a prop just standing there on the wrong side of the ruck, seemed like a lazy thing to do as ity meant it was that much harder for the guy to get involved in the next phase.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
Don't worry bro, Cooper will score every time from first phase ball. My comments are not applicable.
PastHisBest
Roar Guru
OJ if I may...I think what was said was pretty clear Joseph - The Wallabies are going to have to make sure SA don't spoil the speed of the ball from the ruck if they want to play the game at pace. BTW, there are no 'new rules'.
Mike
Guest
Why was Cooper's burglary charge dropped? Is it a case of one law for some ie OJ Simpson and not for all?
Eagle
Guest
Jake White used to say when quizzed about backrow Schalk Burger, Juan Smith and Pierre Spies that you do not need 1 fetcher because all 15 players should be fetchers. Nobody believed him really. Well on Saturday there is an extreme example of a Bok backrow that definitely prefers not to play on the ground. With Kankowski having to fill the boots of Juan Smith. Memories of Brisbane last year are not great re the breakdown if you are South African. If the Boks get some momentum started from the scrums and lineouts can it be maintained through the tackle breakdown, or will they be staring at the effect of a massive turnover statistic?
Joseph
Guest
what do you mean "cleaned out" effectively OJ? as news rules has new roles for 1st, 2nd and 3rd arrivals to breakdown.....or is this another cut n paste term you borrow from some Sunday Paper sports section?
mother teresa
Guest
intention,focus and enthusiasm are in that mix too WARREN
SteveDarke
Guest
A couple of the Wallabies are very very short on match fitness. Could bite them in the bum frankly. Though if the Boks play in slow motion like they have the past two weekends it'll be no drama. Looking forward to a cracker of a game.
Seiran
Guest
If the Boks lose, the Ref will be accused of being biased, Mark my words.
MarkR
Guest
Good memory OJ, he was pinging very quickly for tackler not rolling away & got the ABs when they were gang tackling to create the maul & hold the ball off the ground.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
There's always going to be areas where the ref is a bit funny, but I thought Clancy did a good job in the tackle area which is going to be crucial if Australia want to play an up tempo game against the Boks. Provided the Wallabies can clean out the rucks effectively.
MarkR
Guest
WNM - I'm looking forward to seeing the 9/10/12 combo as it's got all sorts of potential. One of Gits issues was when playing 10 for the Wallabies he tried to create something almost everytime, so ended up getting caught a lot. Cooper doesn't seem to do that as much so hopefully they'll finally gel. One of Carters strengths from set play is he uses the guys outside him well, hedoesn't go for the break often. That means they tend to drift off him after a while & then he'll get a couple of nice runs in (grandma here's an egg). These guys have the making of a great combo if they learn to play off each other properly. Although I'd rather they don't gel properly until after the Melbourne test ! I'm sicking of seeing the ABs once every few years & it being the test they lose !