RUGBY IRELAND v SOUTH AFRICA:THEY ARRIVE supposedly jet-lagged and weary, and riddled by injuries and in-fighting. Nothing especially new, then, with the Springboks, for whom supposed problems off the pitch seem endemic.
Yet when it comes to kick-off in a Test match they rarely put out lambs, and the starting XV unveiled by Pieter de Villiers looks far from primed for a slaughter.
Inspiring captain John Smit may be one of the 13 injuries repeatedly cited in the build-up to tomorrow’s first leg of a putative Grand Slam, but there can’t be many better second-choice number twos than the ultra physical and abrasive Bismarck du Plessis, who also acts like an openside poacher in the loose.
On either side of him are Tendai Mtawarira – the Beast who tamed the Lions – and Bismarck’s brother Jannie du Plessis, who this season has established himself as the Boks’ first-choice tighthead.
Victor Matfield, who has captained the Boks before as well as leading the Bulls to a couple of Super 14 titles, leads the side and reprises his famed provincial partnership with Bakkies Botha, who returns refreshed after a nine-week suspension for head-butting New Zealand’s Jimmy Cowan.
Juan Smith returns at blindside alongside Pierre Spies.
The one new cap is openside Deon Stegmann; otherwise, all of the forwards have at least 20 caps.
Any team would miss Fourie du Preez at scrumhalf, where de Villiers has preferred Ruan Pienaar to Francois Hougaard. The Ulster player will partner the points machine Morne Steyn.
Granted, there’s a callow, experimental look to the backline, where Jean de Villiers (groin strain) will receive a fitness test today and Bryan Habana suffered a rare run of poor form in the Tri- Nations.
Pat Lambie (20) – man of the match in the Currie Cup final last Saturday – is on standby to replace de Villiers, but the ex-Munster centre yesterday declared confidently: “I should be alright”.
Injuries to experienced centres Jaque Fourie, Wynand Olivier and new talent Juan de Jongh, as well as the unavailability of Frans Steyn, limited the Boks’ options, but fullback Gio Aplon is seriously quick and elusive.
All in all, it’s probably a stronger selection than the one which lost the corresponding fixture four years ago as Jake White went into experimental mode just under a year out from winning the World Cup.
But the Springboks’ game is all about physicality and bullying the opposition, and thus, as important as the selection, is how their heads are.
A relatively poor year intensifies the pressure on de Villiers, his coaching staff and his players.
“Definitely. We’re a proud nation,” said de Villiers yesterday. “It hurts whenever we lose any Test. Last year when we came here it wasn’t a very good tour and it hurt a lot. We underperformed a bit but, then again, we work very hard on our shortcomings and what we didn’t do right. If we can improve two per cent on all the areas we worked hard on I think we will be there.”
Against that, curiously, they only arrived around lunchtime yesterday after a near 24-hour journey from Johannesburg, incorporating an 11-hour flight to London, to accommodate both the Currie Cup final and Player of the Year and sponsors’ functions on Monday and Tuesday. Bizarrely, Pienaar flew home from Belfast last Sunday, and back out again with the squad.
Matfield tried to put the best spin on this itinerary when commenting: “We’ve done it before in the Super 14 and with the Springboks as well, and we’ve been successful with the late arrival.”
“Everybody knows we didn’t have a long time to prepare,” admitted de Villiers, “and the sensible thing is to blood all the other guys in, but to make use of the resources that we do have. Stegmann played with Pierre (Spies) and Bakkies (Botha) and Victor for quite a while so they understand each other and it makes sense for us to bring him into the starting line-up.”
Explaining the selection of Kirchner, by inclination a full-back, at centre, de Villiers said: “We expect an onslaught from Ireland and we hope to go for the guy who is steady on defence, so that is the reason that Zane got the nod.”
The Irish midfield, he admitted, were a concern. “They’re not only world class in midfield, but I think they’re the leading country when it comes to first-phase rugby. They can hold onto the ball for long, long periods; they’re persistent, they never give up.
“So we’ve got our work cut out for Saturday and I think all of us do understand that. Nevertheless, we’re looking forward to this, like any clash.”
Recalling how their lineout was dissected and may have been decoded in Croke Park a year ago, Matfield good-naturedly expressed the hope Ireland “won’t catch me out two years in a row. I know they can understand Afrikaans now,” and joked they might apply the Boks’ lineout calls in Zulu.
