Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has surprised a few with his selections for the world XV game this weekend. I count myself one of them.
There is still a lot to debate but the introduction of Cornal Hendricks to the back three is an excellent choice and opportunity for the speedster who has combined well with Willie le Roux all season.
Habana is the other wing and needs no analysis. How he shapes up after a season a Toulon will.
The out of form JP Pieterson moves in one to his preferred position at outside centre – where he has played for his club side in Japan. He has played well here at super rugby level before but it is not a position we have seen much of him this season. Given defensive requirements this could be a big ask – especially beyond this first hit out.
The other centre is Frans Steyn, where most of the faithful believe is his best position but argue that consistent rotation has robbed him of excelling in.
For flyhalf – Meyer has plumbed for the low risk option of Morne Steyn. Neither he or Goosen have been playing much or with much form so it’s hard to argue whether this is the best selection. It’s expected both will play half of the match.
If flyhalf was conservative – then scrumhalf is draconian. Starter Pienaar is apt at game management from the ruck but lacks speed of service – given the depth Steyn will receive the pill this probably wont impact the backline much more. Du Preez is on the bench but I would have preferred Reinach in for Ruan.
The pack is as usual where it’s at. The established combination so Vermeulen, Alberts and Louw are in place. Vermeulen has been growing from strength to strength this season while Alberts has been getting more fatigued. Expect Schalk to replace Alberts around the 50 minute mark. Louw has I believe only just returned from injury at Bath but is still the best over the ball player the Boks have. With no Brussow in the squad we will need him.
We are back to the future in the locks department. While I had massive reservations around Matfield’s return. the interim captain has actually been playing very well and deserves his place – Bakkies I am not so sure of. Victor is going to have to play 80 minutes as Bakkies can’t.
No quibbles with the powerhouse all Sharks front row.
The bench speaks volumes. No new blood and the fact the substitute loosehead and hooker are offshore players and in Steenkamp way off the game is a tragedy. For this match we should have been looking at any number of the super franchises loose head stocks. I would have actually preferred that we stop trying to retread Coenie Oosthuizen and bring in a tight head specialist as the Lions prop is pretty decent.
The return of the incredible Schalk Burger is a good one, lets see if he can still bring it at international level.
From the backs, its good to see Mvovo get a shot for his utility value. His recent form playing at fullback has probably helped and I would prefer his pace and attack to the conservative Kirchner.
Overall, the pack looks as good as it can be. The backline isn’t too bad either but it will be the link between the 9-10 axis that will set the tone. At this point it appears to be the conservative choice. Lets hope I am wrong and the back three do more than chase up-and-unders all game.
Springbok team: Willie le Roux, Cornal Hendricks, JP Pietersen, Frans Steyn, Bryan Habana, Morne Steyn, Ruan Pienaar, Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, Francois Louw, Victor Matfield (captain), Bakkies Botha, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: Schalk Brits, Gurthro Steenkamp, Coenie Oosthuizen, Flip van der Merwe, Schalk Burger, Fourie du Preez, Johan Goosen, Lwazi Mvovo.
Harry Jones
Expert
I am with Etienne on this one. Pollard is a real athlete. Also, he's aggressive. I think he can be our guy in the future if the Bulls don't brainwash him. Hope he can make a move to another union.
etienne marais
Guest
With respect Mr Biltong, I suspect you might not have seen enough of his repertoire (which is understandable, since he has not featured as run-on flyhalf that often). He is highly intuitive and can play with much variation. He reads the game very well, and his vision is often translated into immediate tactical ascendancy. Review the game against the young Scots; look for his grubber, then his gather, then his angled box-kick, perfectly placed a metre inside the line, to send the wing over for a try. When last did you see such a combination (if ever) at any level of the game. I'm not sure whether Pollard is a "maverick" or not. Damn, I'm not even sure whether I quite understand what defines a maverick, but the sort of vision-confidence-execution displayed in that move is certainly "maverickish". I have seen other similar intuitive brilliance from him (perhaps not at quite the same scale). Pollard is young, but highly talented; if given the space, he is going to develop into a formidable rugby player...perhaps even a superstar.
His kicking strategy is very similar to Morne, he plays a fully structured game, he isn't a maverick and follows game plans. Hence he plays like Morne. ;)
etienne marais
Guest
I am a fan of Brussouw, but objectively, there is nothing that Brussouw offers that Flo does not. In addition, Flo offers added lineout capability (which is a central part of the Heineke strategy), bigger heft at scrum-time, a more even temperament, and less yellow cards. So playing Brussouw, specifically for his incredible fetching (over-the-ball ability) would be redundant in the presence of Flo, Bissie, and Duane...there is quite sufficient resource already there for getting to the ball early and keeping it up and "available" (and then there is Schalk off the bench).
etienne marais
Guest
"because there is NOTHING NEW TO LEARN from them" Heineke made it quite clear that, for him, this game was much less about "learning new things", and much more about re-establishing the structures (arguably, potential winning formula) that we ended 2013 off with. If Heineke is going to experiment (which he no doubt will), he will take the incremental approach as opposed to the "revolutionary" approach. Hence, Ruan (a known, but unspectacular quantity) starting at nine, with Fourie (not fully battle-fit - apparently?) coming on sometime after sixty minutes. And that is just one example of Heineke's careful (conservative) approach; there are at least five other examples. I used to be a fierce Heineke critic, but after reading everything on, and about him that I could lay my hands on, I now understand (very clearly) that there is certainly method in his "madness".
etienne marais
Guest
Elsewhere in this thread I saw it mentioned that Pollard plays Morne's game. Unfortunately not correct at all; the first and major difference is that Pollard often attacks the gainline directly (unlike Morne). Review the Bulls against the Stormers game and see him beat the gainline six times by running direct. Unfortunately he has not had sufficient starts in Superugby to establish a reliable statistical package, but he is one to watch for next year, and a future in green-and-gold.
etienne marais
Guest
...And then he, himself, also effects turnovers from the tackle situation, often.
Rollaway7
Guest
anyone know what channel this game will be on in Australia? I can't find it in the fox guide
Nah, fitness is not the issue, it is basic skills. The passing was poor from the start, the poor tackling from the start, fitness would show as a problem late in the game.
Chan Wee
Guest
i think ur boys lack fitness for 7S style running rugger if they play a forwards game, it wil be fine. not many teams have a Tevita Li ;)
Just finished watching the U20 game. Our handling was very poor, passes too high, too low, behind the support runner, wayward into the sideline. Our 15 and 14 has no defence, so if we want to win this tournament we will have to work on our passing skills and defensive techniques.
Charl
Guest
Yes but, but, but, the Baby Boks are so much bigger Harry, it's really not fair! ;)
Chan Wee
Guest
well thw 14 is not a small boy (looks like Fourie) but he is a poor tackler. Li went past him and left him flailing arms like a Muppet. actually the back 3 were not needed to make a lot of tacles. nz hardly hand any attacking ball.
Matthew Skellett
Guest
Just watching the JWC game between SA and NZ and couldnt help thinking that the french ref must be up for retirement because he wont get another top level game after failing to make sure NZ won
Chan Wee
Guest
england - southafrica is the most likely final this time around. if nz dont make semis it will be the first time in the history of U20 rugger. imagine that in thier back yard!! boks will take it this year , but the mounting casualty count will upset their rhythm :( england have always been good at U20 level ; won once and runner up thrice. even better than boks :)
Will watch tonight ;) Our weakness last year against Wales was the weak defence of our small back three, it was embarrassing to say the least.
Chan Wee
Guest
@ biltongbek : there was one big wing 14 , and a small (comparatively) wippet at 11 with a good back. the pack was huge. all the 2nd and 3rd rowers were easily 3 inches taller and 5-10kg heavier (if not more !!!) than the nz boys. nz pack made an English-like mistake ; they pushed the bk pack one time and strated going up in whoops. dont think they got another push but a few tight heads went to the boks. the nz trys were off broken play and individual brilliance of tevita li (Blues). lot was siad of anton brown (chiefs) but he did nothing much. simon hickey (blues) tried but he is too small to break the big bok line. the fullback was sloid, but he could not cope with all the defensive work. as for boks the pack was strong and dominated nz. superb lineout and scrum. a proper fly half would have made that line work and score a dozen trys.
I agree regarding Pollard, he is similar to Morne Steyn.
I haven't seen them play yet, but our back three are usually quite small, they were in the last few years.
Chan Wee
Guest
last time they set a record for highest number of yellow cards. maybe it ill be better this time ;)