Boks won't bury All Blacks under mountain of caps

Heyneke Meyer has put his faith in experienced players he can trust, and I hope he gets what he prays for.

Captain Jean de Villiers will play in his third World Cup, 38-year-old vice-captain Victor Matfield in his fourth and the 31-strong Springbok squad is packed with veterans.

The line-up boasts a combined total of 1297 caps, an average of 42, and I hope the baggage master doesn’t have to pack them all.

The Springbok coach has come up with a mixture of experience and current form, and it would be uncharitable to criticise too severely.

However, it is one thing to select a squad of 31 and another to choose a starting line-up of 15 players when his quest for World Cup glory is on the line.

Caution has been Meyer’s watchword. Will he trust relatively inexperienced younger players to bring home the Webb Ellis Trophy? I doubt it.

I believe we will see a Springbok team loaded with caps when push comes to shove in the sporting showpiece.

His problem is of his own making. In the past few years, Meyer has banked on experience and has not given emerging young stars enough game time in Tests. How can he now trust dropping them into a cauldron of tension that is World Cup rugby?

He may try a few options in the pool games against Samoa, Scotland, Japan and the USA, but if we reach the quarter-finals, we will see an old brigade leading the charge.

Matfield will be a No.5, not the younger and faster Lood de Jager or Pieter-Steph du Toit, now retreaded as a loose forward. De Villiers will play centre rather than Jesse Kriel and I suspect that Pat Lambie will again spend substantial time on the bench.

What a wasted talent. Still in his early 20s, Lambie has more than 40 caps and spent most of the Tests on the sidelines. Because Meyer’s mantra has been ‘big is better’, I can’t see Lambie displacing Handre Pollard at flyhalf.

Kriel will probably get the nod, but as a wing so that De Villiers can slot in at centre.

Barring injuries, I expect a front row of the Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis and brother Jannie, locks Eben Etzebeth and Matfield, flanks Schalk Burger and Willem Alberts, No.8 Duan Vermeulen with a backline of Fourie du Preez, Pollard, Damian de Allende, De Villiers, Bryan Habana, JP Pietersen and Willie le Roux.

Whither Kriel? He could get a spot on the wing, but the electric young star showed defensive frailties in that position in the Test against Argentina and the jury is out on whether he will make a starting line-up. An option would be at fullback, but that would mean ousting Le Roux and denying the claims of Lambie.

Overall, it’s an impressive line-up and one that will satisfy many fans and critics who believe that experience will carry the day.

Running the risk of being accused of heresy by the faithful, I would not have Matfield and De Villiers in the starting line-up.

Matfield has seen far better days. His experience in lineouts is important but not vital, and I haven’t seen De Jager having any problems when he played.

I applaud De Villiers for his courage in fighting back from a serious injury and then another one. I am also mindful of his leadership qualities, but in my view they do not justify selection at centre. Vermeulen could easily take over as captain and a De Allende-Kriel centre combination is a better one.

The Springbok coach’s selection poser was always going to be a balancing act. There has been the political pressure and from those who believe that current form is just as vital as experience.

Matfield and Burger will play in the World Cup for the fourth time while De Villiers, Du Preez, Ruan Pienaar, Habana, Pietersen and the Du Plessis brothers will be making it trip number three.

And just to make sure there is enough experience, six players will make their second appearance in the showpiece.

The opposition will not be scratching their heads about the Springboks’ game plan, one that is largely based on power, box kicks and the rolling maul.

Unlike the super-slick All Blacks, who combine physicality with guile, we are all about overpowering other teams. Run hard at the opposition, drop in the tackle and try to recycle the ball. When that works, the Springboks are a force to be reckoned with.

Meyer has a better record than recent results show. Defeats against the New Zealanders and Australians have been close affairs and the results could have gone either way. So I am not pessimistic. The trouble is we have too often lost Tests in the closing minutes that we could have won.

I tire of the times that fans and critics blame the referee. Get over it. Decisions will not always go our way. Northern hemisphere referees interpret scrumming laws differently to those in the southern climes. If one has any questions, ask them before a game, not after it. We are beginning to sound like a nation of whiners not winners.

The World Cup pot is sure to continue boiling as the tournament approaches. We can’t afford one-off performances. Samoa loom large in our pool and Scotland are no easy beats.

The All Blacks, Wallabies, England, Ireland and other contenders are not short on experience either. The idea that we are a tougher bunch of players is sheer nonsense.

Flair and guile are also vital attributes. Let’s hope Meyer takes this into account. Will we be able to bury the other top teams under a mountain of Test caps? My heart feels yes, my head says no.