Ken Borland

Springboks defence coach John McFarland said on Tuesday that his team will need to lay down the law early on against Argentina in what he predicts will be two very tough Tests at the start of South Africa’s Rugby Championship campaign.

“I think they’re going to be two very difficult Tests against Argentina and that’s what we’re focusing on because you get the same four points for beating the Pumas as you do for beating the All Blacks.

“Argentina have certainly improved and they have a lot of experience, so we’re going to have to do the hard yards. We have to dominate the collisions and set a defensive line in front of them. As the second Test against Wales showed, when we were maybe too complacent, if you don’t bring your top game into a Test match, you’ll be in trouble,” McFarland said.

Although there have been some protests over too many veteran players being used by Heyneke Meyer, one of the greatest strengths in the current Springbok squad is the considerable experience it contains. Just a year out from the World Cup, it is worth noting that successful campaigns have been built around experience; send a green team and you’re on a hiding to nothing. South Africa’s poor 2003 performance was partly due to their squad only having a combined 397 caps, or 13 per player; in 2007, Jake White assembled a total of 809 caps (an average of 26 per player).

The current 30-man Springbok squad has 964 caps between them. That’s without Victor Matfield’s record 113 appearances, but his replacement, Juan Smith, brings 69 caps himself. Fourie du Preez is a certainty for the World Cup if fit and he has 70 Tests to his name.

For McFarland, players like Smith and Bakkies Botha are crucial for the team dynamic.

“You can’t buy experience, like we saw when Bakkies came back late last year. Guys like him and Juan are inspirational, they never give up and they’re an example to all of us in how to keep going,” McFarland said.

For Smith, his determination has brought the sweet taste of success as he returns to the Springbok squad he holds so dear, the bitterness of his achilles injury that curdled his career for so long a thing of the past.

“It’s been a long road back, I was out for 28 months, I had announced I was finished and I saw no light at the end of the tunnel. I had five operations and they were tough times, it was all very dark times. I felt I had no other choice but to call it a day.

“I had one operation in Bloemfontein and then three in Pretoria. After that I tried everything to fix the achilles but there was no way around it and I was forced to retire. But then a surgeon in Bloemfontein, Dr Johan Kruger, said he could give me a chance of playing again. But for me it wasn’t about playing again, I just wanted to walk without pain. For 25 months I would stand up and go to bed with pain.

“I could immediately feel the difference after that operation, the next morning there was no pain, and I said to my wife that I’m going to try and play again,” Smith said on Tuesday.

Since making a fairytale return to the rugby field for Toulon in September 2013, Smith has dished up consistently brilliant performances in his 28 appearances for the French club, helping them to the dream double of the Heineken Cup and the Top 14 title last season.

While Smith is by no means assured of playing against Argentina – it is hard to see him jumping ahead of Vermeulen, Louw, Alberts and Coetzee in the loose forward queue, while competition at lock is also stiff – there will definitely be a new face in the number 13 jersey against the Pumas.

It is sad that Meyer does not have faith in the obvious abilities of Juan de Jongh and S’Bura Sithole, and it looks likely that the uncapped Damian de Allende, used at inside centre and on the wing by the Stormers, will be pressed into duty as the outside centre to captain Jean de Villiers.

While De Allende is obviously a potent force with ball in hand, it is in defence where teams like New Zealand and Australia can make a fool of anyone in midfield who does not know exactly what they are doing.

McFarland said playing at 13 was all about taking your time when it comes to defence.

“It’s a bit different to playing at 12, where things happen quicker because the flyhalf is on top of you. You have a bit more time at 13 and the important things is not to come too hard, don’t bite the bait,” the defensive guru said.

Argentina were destroyed 73-13 by the Springboks in Soweto last year, but they have not played a Test at Loftus Versfeld before. But Pretoria was not a kind place for the South America combined team in the past, with the tourists of 1982 losing 50-18 and their 1984 successors going down 32-15.

South Africa forwards coach Johan van Graan said on Monday that fears over the match-fitness of the handful of Springboks returning from injury were unfounded ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship opener against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld.

Tendai Mtawarira, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Jean de Villiers, Damian de Allende and Pat Lambie are all likely to be involved in Saturday’s Test and all of them have just returned from injuries that have kept them out for weeks and in some cases months.

But Van Graan said players today, especially experienced ones, were more able to hit the ground running.

“It varies from player to player, but they are all professionals who have been around the block. For example, last year Duane Vermeulen had been injured for a long time but he came back and played 80 minutes straight away,” Van Graan said.

Team doctor Craig Roberts acknowledged that players did need to take contact in order to get match-fit, but he said much of this could be done in training.

“You need hits and contact to get match-fit and sometimes you need game time if you’ve been out for a long time. Which is one of the reasons Eben Etzebeth and Frans Malherbe were sent back to their province last week because they had three months out with injury.

“Someone like Beast has only been out for six weeks and he’s done everything in training, he did a lot of scrumming last week and he’s looking good. We had some big, heavy sessions last week,” Roberts said.

Fears that captain De Villiers might miss the opening Rugby Championship encounter now look misplaced as South Africa’s most-capped centre continues to make steady progress from his knee injury.

“We’ve brought Jean through slowly and we’re happy with where he’s at,” Roberts said.

Mtawarira’s progress means that he might well start in the number one jersey in his 56th Test and his first match since the game against Wales in Nelspruit on June 21.

The Springbok pack has been even more disrupted by the injury to veteran Victor Matfield.

“Victor tweaked his knee, there’s a little tear in the cartilage, but he’s responded well to rest and rehab and it doesn’t look like a scope will be necessary. But he won’t be available this week and we’ll reassess his fitness for the trip to Argentina,” Roberts said.

While Van Graan said the absence of “probably the best lock to have ever played” would be felt beyond just the lineouts – Matfield also plays a key role in the defensive organisation – the search was on for someone else to run that set-piece for the Springboks.

“Losing Victor is obviously a huge setback, but we’ve worked hard with Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth on calling the lineouts and Duane Vermeulen has been calling the Stormers’ lineout for some time. He’s been part of the system for a long time and is an experienced caller, so Duane is probably the favourite to do it,” Van Graan said.

The forwards coach said taking on the Argentinians this weekend would be a major test of the Springboks’ ability to hang on to their own ball.

“In 2013, Argentina and us stole the most ball, not only at the breakdowns but also at set-pieces, and we were at one and two again in the June Tests. So it’s definitely going to be a game with a lot of contesting for the ball, Argentina will attack us at every breakdown, scrum, lineout and kick-off.

“The Pumas also do a lot of leg-tackles, taking the ball-carrier low, but playing against Wales and Scotland in June was good preparation for that. They also do more leg-tackles, while you have more double-hits in SuperRugby. But it’s been a focus of ours in training, especially for the taller guys, who are put in situations they’re not used to,” Van Graan said.

There is a good buzz in the Springbok camp, especially with the legendary Juan Smith once again part of the squad, and they are hopeful, despite the injury concerns, that they will be in tiptop shape come Saturday.

“For the first time in two-and-a-half years, we’ve had the actual 30-man squad together two weeks before the start of the tournament and you can feel the buzz and vibe in the squad. Everything’s been planned – the players knew in June what we would be doing now – and we’ve been concentrating on our set-pieces, attack, kicking game and what to do when you’re five metres from your own line and five metres from their line,” Van Graan said.

Even the rusty Malherbe and Etzebeth showed good form in Western Province’s weekend Currie Cup victory over the Eastern Province Kings, with the tighthead prop making over a dozen tackles.

Sharks scrumhalf Cobus Reinach has scored some tremendous individual tries in the last year, but the newest member of the Springbok squad is adamant that those are not planned and he has just had the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time.

“The tries have been a team effort, I just finished them off,” Reinach said with a modesty that was almost as impressive as some of the moments of solo brilliance he has dazzled with for the Sharks.

“It’s never about me, for me it’s always about getting the ball out, getting quick ball for the team, which is very key to the way the Springboks want to play. I’ll never try and force a gap for myself,” he added.

Reinach is the son of the late Jaco Reinach, the last man to represent South Africa in both rugby and athletics. Jaco was the South African record-holder for the 400m (45.01) from April 1983 until 2011 when it was broken by LJ van Zyl, a three-time African champion and Olympian.

So it probably wasn’t a surprise that Cobus Reinach began his rugby career on the wing, but was moved to scrumhalf when he was deemed to be too small for the back three.

“I always played wing until U13 when I was told I was too small for that position – at all of 38kgs,” Reinach recalled.

“I had to adapt very quickly and I didn’t really have any role-models who were scrumhalves. So I used to watch George Gregan and Fourie du Preez a lot and copy what they did.”

The evergreen Du Preez is injured – out for the rest of the year – which has allowed Reinach to receive his first full call-up to the Springbok squad.

“It’s an exciting, amazing feeling to be around the Springboks. I’m having a good season, which helps, but the main part of being here is to learn. Fourie, Ruan Pienaar and Francois Hougaard are all world-class scrumhalves, but if you want to be the best, then you have to compete against the best,” Reinach said.

While the Sharks, with a conservative game plan and problems at flyhalf, often relied on Reinach’s individual brilliance to spark their attacking play, the Springboks have threats across the park and the 24-year-old knows he has to concentrate on slick service and the one area of his game that has shown signs of weakness – his tactical kicking.

“There are always areas to improve. My passing from both left and right hand is fine, but I’m working on my weak foot.

“At the Sharks, we have a big tactical kicking game and if it doesn’t go your way on the day then you’re in trouble. We weren’t good enough in the SuperRugby semi-final, but the Springboks don’t play the same type of rugby – they run a bit more and they kick and exit their own half differently,” Reinach said.

Reinach junior was just six years old when his father died in a car accident, aquaplaning off the road near Kroonstad and hitting a tree in January 1997, but it is clear Jaco’s legacy lives on strongly in his son.

Apart from being a world-class athlete, denied an international stage due to Apartheid, Jaco Reinach was an exceptional wing who was unfortunate to only play four times for the Springboks. He was at his peak in the mid-1980s, but that was the era of Ray Mordt and Michael and Carel du Plessis and he played in just one series – against the 1986 New Zealand Cavaliers. Reinach snr scored two tries, one of them a memorable effort from the halfway line in the 33-18 victory at Loftus Versfeld.

When Cobus makes his bow on the international stage (it will surely be sooner rather than later), it will be an emotional time for the Grey Bloem product.

“Even though he was not there, my dad was definitely the biggest influence on my career. I always wanted to follow in his footsteps. I watched the Battle of the Giants video of the Springboks’ series against the New Zealand Cavaliers over and over and just to see him run was brilliant. I think I’m quite quick but not as quick as him, especially not off the mark!

“When I saw my name in the Springbok squad, I was so happy. But I’m going to try and keep the emotion out of it until I get in the team. After I’ve played my first game, then I think I will be emotional,” Reinach said with refreshing candour.

There are a million different ways to play rugby and, while there is a hint of contrasting philosophies when it comes to Jake White and Heyneke Meyer, Reinach welcomes all the input at this early stage of his career.

“Every coach has his own idea of how to play, so I’ve picked up a few ideas along the way. That’s how my game will grow up, that’s how I will be able to do everything. With experience and game time, my decision-making will get better and better, but I also don’t want to lose my instinctive moves,” he said.

The instinctive moments of brilliance are what most people will notice; but the best teams have scrumhalves who also do the basics faultlessly, unnoticed, much like a wicketkeeper in cricket.

Scrumhalves need to have their fingers on the pulse of play, they dictate the tempo and flow of the game.

In Cobus Reinach, the Springboks have someone with the skills to grow into that role … with a bit of magic on the side.

Jean de Villiers knows he does not have many appearances left in the Springbok jersey, so the 33-year-old captain is absolutely determined to enjoy every moment remaining in the South African squad.

That same passion has been driving his rehab from a knee injury that kept him out of the Incoming Tours in June and, although he has not played a match since May 3, De Villiers is confident that he won’t have to miss any more Tests as the Springboks head into the Rugby Championship.

“The knee is good, it’s coming on nicely and I’ve been running for the last couple of weeks. It’s improved a lot and I had a full session yesterday [Tuesday], and it’s looking better than I thought it would, there’s no swelling.

“I’ve taken contact and my fitness is good because I’ve been doing lots of cardio. It’s now just a question of getting confidence back in my knee and then I’ll be 100%,” De Villiers said in midweek.

“But it’s never nice sitting on the side. I’m at the end of my career, I realise that’s pretty close, and I want to make whatever’s left of my rugby career as good as possible. You want to make sure you’ve given it your best shot when you hang up your boots.

“If this is my last 12 months with the Springboks then I want to make it great. It’s fantastic to be a part of such a great squad with such great talent and I’m very proud to be a leader in it.

“I’m going to make sure I enjoy the journey and the cherry on top will be the World Cup next year. Your injuries just make you appreciate your time in this game even more,” the father of two daughters said.

While the presence of so many veterans – Bakkies Botha, De Villiers, Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis, Bryan Habana, Victor Matfield, Ruan Pienaar, Gurthro Steenkamp and Juan Smith were all involved in the 2007 World Cup triumph – curdles the breakfast milk of some Springbok fans, the captain insists that the presence of such seasoned internationals is a great strength.

“It’s very exciting to have such good experience and young guys with exceptional talent putting pressure on them for their places. It’s a good balance for us and you see how guys like Handre Pollard and Jan Serfontein played unbelievably well when they started in the incoming Tests.

“We’re in the ideal position to bring youngsters in … look at Lood de Jager playing with Victor Matfield. He knows that he has that experience next to him and that’s why guys like Juan Smith also add value. They’ve been through it all, they can tell the youngsters to ‘do it like this’.

“It speeds up the process of making inexperienced players experienced,” De Villiers pointed out.

South Africa’s most capped centre said the return of Toulon-based loose forward Smith, who has not played a Test since the end of 2010 due to what many felt was a career-ending achilles tendon injury, was particularly inspiring.

“Juan Smith – what a story! His career was ended prematurely and I remember him handing out our jerseys in Nelspruit last year. You could see the determination still in him, that he felt he still had a lot to give.

“He’s kept that hunger and he had a lot to prove even though many people had written him off. But he’s played wonderful rugby for Toulon and he’s a great player and person, with a great story to tell.

“He’s going to bring a lot of energy and put some of the youngsters in their place too!”