Ken Borland

Prop Coenie Oosthuizen’s injury-enforced absence from the rest of the Test series against England is a major blow for the Springboks, forwards coach Johann van Graan said on Tuesday.

Oosthuizen has a “mildly bulging disc in his neck”, according to South Africa team doctor Craig Roberts, and will be out of action for between two and three months as the Springboks follow a conservative treatment approach.

“Coenie is still a young player and has a long career ahead of him and needs to be managed appropriately. We will follow a conservative approach with him,” Roberts said.

The 23-year-old Oosthuizen made his debut off the bench in the first Test against England in Durban, but Van Graan said he had made an impressive impact.

“He showed in the first Test what he can do and his injury is a big loss for us, especially since he can play both tighthead and loosehead,” Van Graan told reporters in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Oosthuizen is also a major threat with ball in hand, as Springbok tighthead Jannie du Plessis pointed out.

“Coenie had two brilliant scrums at tighthead but the real difference he made was in carrying the ball, it’s no secret he’s one of the best in the world at that. He always puts you on the front foot,” Du Plessis said.

While the Springbok ball-carriers dominated England and the advantage line in the second half of the first Test, Du Plessis said the forwards had placed too much pressure on scrumhalf Francois Hougaard on their own ball in the first half, by not offering him enough protection at the breakdowns.

“It’s great to play in a pack where all eight players want to do well, but we weren’t clinical enough at the breakdown. We didn’t hold on to the ball well enough and England had good stealers, especially at second or third phase where we were a bit light on cleaners.

“The longer you keep the ball, the more pressure you can exert on the opposition and we improved in the second half and played better rugby as a result,” Du Plessis said.

While the Springboks expect an even better performance from the England pack in Saturday’s second Test in Johannesburg, an area where the home team is more than likely going to be better is goalkicking. Sharpshooting flyhalf Morne Steyn struggled with the swirling wind inside the King’s Park Stadium in Durban and missed two conversions and a penalty.

“My kicking was not up to standard. The conditions were quite tough, but a kicker must be prepared for all conditions. In a place like Durban, the ball doesn’t travel as you’d like and I allowed too much for the wind. But it should be better at altitude and Ellis Park is closer to Loftus [Steyn’s home ground with the Bulls], so I should be more at home this weekend,” Steyn said.

Van Graan also praised a second debutant, lock Juandre Kruger, for a top-class all-round display.

“Juandre did really well in his first Test, he had a lot of responsibility – organising the calls on our own ball and when we contested, as well as the kick-offs. We only lost three out of 15 balls, so the lineout went well considering we had personnel from different teams,” Van Graan said.

England coach Stuart Lancaster said on Monday that he was delighted midweek games are in the tour schedule during their current trip to South Africa for three Tests.

England are playing a Southern Barbarians XV in Kimberley on Wednesday, before flying back to play the second Test against the Springboks in Johannesburg on Saturday. Next week they also play a midweek game, against the Northern Barbarians.

“The beauty of this tour is that there are opportunities in it to develop experience at the highest environment. It’s an opportunity to build a squad and work with the players. There’s nothing better for a coach than to coach players in a game situation,” Lancaster told a news conference in Johannesburg on Monday.

“There may be an element of distraction from the Test match because instead of having a day off on Wednesday, the whole squad will now travel to Kimberley to provide support. We think that’s important and the challenge is to get the right balance and our attention directed at the right place at the right time. The pros far outweigh the cons and I’d like to do it again in future.”

The eye injury centre Brad Barritt sustained in the first Test in Durban has ruled him out of the second Test and Lancaster said the midweek match provided the ideal opportunity for him to build some midfield depth, particularly in the number 13 jersey.

“I’m playing what would be regarded as two specialist 12s on Wednesday because I want to look at Anthony Allen at 13. I want options for England there and Anthony played outside Brad Barritt in the Churchill Cup.

“The plan is that Anthony will move to 12 in the second half and George Lowe will come on at outside centre. It’s about creating opportunities for everyone and not pigeonholing them,” Lancaster said.

“We must have options in different positions and you don’t get the opportunity to work on that in international rugby – there’s no pre-season and very few warm-up matches.”

England are building a new-look backline, with Saturday’s combination for the first Test only having 98 caps between them, with 72 shared between three players – wings Ben Foden and Chris Ashton and scrumhalf Ben Youngs.

“I’m not afraid to give players chances if they show the right temperament. These lads are coming through as a group, but 13 is an area we still need to look at, we still need to find people to fit in there. Manu Tuilagi was predominantly a wing in age-group rugby,” Lancaster said.

England will also want to be more systematic with their kicking game in Kimberley, a city on the highveld that boasts a hard, dry playing surface, giving kickers extra distance.

“This morning’s review of the Test centred around the third quarter and our lack of composure, especially in terms of our exit strategies – a good kick and chase. Both the halfbacks took responsibility, it’s an honest group and we’ve identified areas we need to work on,” Lancaster said.

Jon Callard, the England kicking coach, said the problems were due to technical issues and breakdowns in communication.

“We had some technical issues but also some communication problems that need to be resolved. For the box kicks, the chasing group were sometimes ready for a move with ball-in-hand so, with the best will in the world, they’re not going to be able to reach a 50-metre kick.

“I thought we dealt with the ball in the air well and produced some good ball to play with from it,” Callard said.

The England team for the second Test will be announced on Thursday.

“We have some important decisions to make in the training tomorrow and then on Thursday we have to make sure the team is cohesive and ready to play,” Lancaster said.

England lost the first Test 17-22 in Durban and have not won at the Springboks’ Johannesburg fortress – Ellis Park – since the 18-9 victory in 1972.

England coach Stuart Lancaster on Monday named Harlequins lock George Robson as the captain for the midweek match against the Southern Barbarians in Kimberley on Wednesday.

Robson follows in the footsteps of club-mate Chris Robshaw, who led England in the first test against South Africa last weekend in Durban.

“George has had a tremendous season for Harlequins, has made a great contribution to this tour already, both in training and as part of the leadership group, and I know he will captain the team well,” Lancaster said.

The team to play the Southern Barbarians is a completely new one, with the whole England squad, save for wing Ugo Monye and prop Alex Corbisiero, getting game time in the first two matches of the tour.

England lost the first test 17-22 to the Springboks and Lancaster said he hoped the midweek team would help the squad to bounce back from that disappointment.

“Every one of the 22 is desperate to play. They have trained superbly and their attitude while waiting for their chance has been first-class. There is a lot of competition for places across the board and Wednesday gives these players a chance to lay down a marker and for the whole squad to build some momentum towards Saturday’s test. We need to make sure we get back on track,” Lancaster said.

The England coach admitted, however, that it was unlikely anyone playing in Wednesday’s match would come through and make the starting XV for the second test in Johannesburg on Saturday.

“We’re close to being finalised for the team for Saturday, but we are still looking at one or two players, although they are more likely to be on the bench for Saturday,” Lancaster told a news conference in Johannesburg on Monday.

With experienced players such as halfbacks Charlie Hodgson (38 test caps) and Danny Care (32 caps) and flank James Haskell (42 caps) in the midweek team, Lancaster said he was excited by the match.

“I’m really looking forward to the game. From the players’ point of view, obviously they’re just desperate to get out on the park, but for me it’s an opportunity to build a squad and work with the players. There’s nothing better for a coach than to coach players in a game situation,” Lancaster said.

The former England Saxons head coach said he was playing two inside centres – Anthony Allen and Jordan Turner-Hall – in midfield on Wednesday because he wanted to develop England’s depth at outside centre.

“I’m playing what would be regarded as two specialist 12s because I want to look at Anthony Allen at 13. I want options for England there and Anthony played outside Brad Barritt in the Churchill Cup.

“The plan is that he will move to 12 in the second half and George Lowe will come on at outside centre. It’s about creating opportunities for everyone and not pigeonholing them,” Lancaster said.

The midweek team’s starting line-up includes seven players who have not yet played test rugby for England – fullback Alex Goode, wing Christian Wade, hooker Joe Gray, locks Graham Kitchener and Robson, flank Carl Fearns and New Zealand-born eighthman Thomas Waldrom.

Team – 15-Alex Goode, 14-David Strettle, 13-Anthony Allen, 12-Jordan Turner-Hall, 11-Christian Wade, 10-Charlie Hodgson, 9-Danny Care. 8-Thomas Waldrom, 7-Carl Fearns, 6-James Haskell, 5-George Robson, 4-Graham Kitchener, 3-Paul Doran-Jones, 2-Joe Gray, 1-Mutt Mullan. Replacements: 16-Tom Youngs, 17-Rupert Harden, 18-Tom Palmer, 19-Jamie Gibson, 20-Lee Dickson, 21-George Lowe, 22-Nick Abendanon.

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South Africa fullback Zane Kirchner has been ruled out of the second Test against England and Stormers utility back Gio Aplon has been called up into the Springbok squad to replace him, team management announced on Monday.

Kirchner injured his knee during the 22-17 first Test victory in Durban last weekend and was unable to take the field for the second half. The 27-year-old had a scan on Monday morning and, according to a statement released by team management, “it was decided that he would not be considered for the second Test”, in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The statement said Kirchner’s knee would be checked again next week ahead of the final Test in Port Elizabeth on June 23.

Aplon was one of the original 42-man Springbok training squad announced last month and was considered a controversial omission from the final squad, having starred for the Stormers en route to the top of the South African SuperRugby conference and having played in last year’s World Cup.

The diminutive Aplon [1.75m, 78kg] has played 16 Tests and his omission caused a storm of protest in his home city of Cape Town.

Kirchner is likely to be replaced in the starting line-up by Sharks utility back Pat Lambie, who slotted in well at fullback in the second half of the first Test. Aplon has the ability to play both fullback and wing.

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said on Monday that although Lambie was a quality replacement, fullback was a specialist position that would require some thought.

“Obviously Pat is a great fullback and he had a good second half, I was happy with his performance. Obviously he’s one of the guys who has played there before and it’s easy to use the group system, that’s helpful. But it’s always tough losing a fullback because it means you need a specialist reserve,” Meyer said.

South Africa’s other injury concern is prop Coenie Oosthuizen, who can play on either side of the front five and came off the bench in Durban.
Oosthuizen experienced pain in his shoulder and neck region on Monday morning and Bulls prop Dean Greyling has been called up as cover.

Meyer said Oosthuizen’s potential unavailability after earning his first test cap, would seriously complicate matters because he wants to go into the match with a prop on the bench who is comfortable with playing both loosehead and tighthead prop.
Greyling, 26 years old, has played Two tests, both 11 months ago when South Africa sent a weakened team to the away leg of the Tri-Nations in Australia and New Zealand.

Meyer also praised England for their defence in the first Test and said it had been hard for the Springboks to get their game-plan going.

“Our scrumhalf, Francois Hougaard, struggled a little bit because a lot of guys up front haven’t fitted in together before and didn’t provide him enough protection. That’s rustiness and we worked on that today, but credit to England because they pressed hard in midfield. They’re a quality side and their defence was good,” Meyer said.

“England were awesome at times, they showed great defence and great discipline and you can not go into a comfort zone against that sort of quality. They don’t give up like a lot of other teams give up and they came right at the end.”