Ken Borland

South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer on Wednesday included promising 20-year-old flyhalf Johan Goosen at the expense of the experienced Morne Steyn in the team to play Australia in a Rugby Championship Test in Pretoria on Saturday.

Steyn’s form deserted him as the Springboks drew in Argentina and then lost to Australia in Perth and New Zealand in Dunedin, and the under-pressure Meyer has responded by omitting the man many South African fans hold responsible for the poor results.

“It was a very difficult decision, but I have to look after the team’s interests first and then the individual’s. Morne really wanted to play, especially at Loftus, his home ground, but he is a true champion and he took my decision gracefully. He has won a lot of games for his country, just the last few have not gone well. But Morne’s not someone you need to feel sorry for, he’s a fighter and he will come back stronger,” Meyer told a news conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Goosen, who looked a prodigious talent in SuperRugby for the Cheetahs before a dislocated shoulder ruled him out at the halfway stage of the competition, has promised much in two appearances totalling half-an-hour off the bench.

“Johan has always been in the mix since day one, but it’s been a process with him. I feel he is now ready to start a Test for South Africa and I’m excited to see what he can bring,” said Meyer.

The uncapped 22-year-old Elton Jantjies has been included as the reserve flyhalf on the bench and, if inside centre Francois Steyn fails to recover from a twisted ankle, then another debutant, utility back Jaco Taute, will play outside centre, with captain Jean de Villiers shifting to number 12, where he has played most of his 79 Tests.

“I’m really passionate about the Springboks, it feels like life and death decisions for myself. But it’s not about giving players chances at this level, they must be able to make a difference and I would not put them in the 22 if I did not have confidence in them,” Meyer said.

The other changes to the Springbok team that lost 21-11 to New Zealand in Dunedin two weekends ago sees South Africa fielding a new lock pairing in 2.03m Eben Etzebeth and 2.08m Andries Bekker that will give them the same lineout that led the Stormers to the top of the SuperRugby standings. Eighthman Duane Vermeulen is also a key lineout jumper, while Tiaan Liebenberg is the reserve hooker.

Meyer said the changes in the second row would ensure that the Springboks had taller players better suited to the strong Australian lineout and what is expected to be a fast-paced game.

“All the locks are sticking up their hands and we’re building great depth there, so it was a tough call. Flip van der Merwe had probably his best game ever for the Springboks and Juandre Kruger was very good too.

“Against the All Blacks, you want locks that play more to the ball and Flip and Juandre were superb at the rucks. But Australia are very good in the lineout, they will put us under pressure there, and one of Bekker’s other strengths is that, in a more open game, he has the ability to pitch up at centre or on the wing,” Meyer said.

Team- 15-Zane Kirchner, 14-Bryan Habana, 13-Jean de Villiers/Jaco Taute, 12-Francois Steyn/Jean de Villiers, 11-Francois Hougaard, 10-Johan Goosen, 9-Ruan Pienaar, 8-Duane Vermeulen, 7-Willem Alberts, 6-Francois Louw, 5-Andries Bekker, 4-Eben Etzebeth, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 1-Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: 16-Tiaan Liebenberg, 17-Coenie Oosthuizen, 18-Flip van der Merwe, 19-Marcell Coetzee, 20-Elton Jantjies, 21-Jaco Taute/Juan de Jongh, 22-Pat Lambie.

Australia coach Robbie Deans has not decided yet who his flyhalf will be in Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against South Africa at Pretoria, but Berrick Barnes reckons he will either be number 10 or number 15 at Loftus Versfeld.

Barnes is one of three contenders for the flyhalf position, along with the mercurial Kurtley Beale and strong kicker Mike Harris, but has also appeared at inside centre this year as well as fullback.

“I’m sure I’ll either be at 10 or 15, and if I’m fullback then I’ll have a lot more work under the high ball. No side tests the fullback as much as the Springboks do. People talk about the forward battle, but you have to deal with the kicking game as well,” Barnes told reporters in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Barnes is fully expecting the Springboks to bombard the Wallabies with high kicks and said the tactic had contributed to Australia struggling to beat South Africa in Perth on September 8.

“You’re not allowed to kick in Australia! But there’s a real appreciation for the kicking game here, I guess it depends on what you find entertaining.

“But it’s a huge part of Test rugby, how you exit your own half and we struggled with that in Perth. We’ll endeavour not to try as many grubbers this time, we got pizzled for it after that game. But they can be effective if you get them through the line … it’s just we didn’t get any through!” Barnes said.

If Barnes does play at flyhalf, he is expecting the Springboks to put pressure on him by running at his channel with their big centres.

“Frans Steyn is over a hundred kilograms, he’s not small, but you have to deal with it as best you can, much like tackling Ma’a Nonu or Sonny Bill Williams. It’s not an easy task and I’m sure they’ll use that same channel to attack, although you also have to be aware of what’s outside that with Bryan Habana and Jean de Villiers, who hasn’t been getting many raps but he’s one of the best centres in the world,” Barnes said.

Wallabies media manager Matt McIllraith said a gastrointestinal bug had got her claws into the Australian camp, with lock and captain Nathan Sharpe, props James Slipper and Ben Alexander, lock Sitaleki Timani and loose forwards Liam Gill and Scott Higginbotham all being laid low.

The Wallabies are also waiting on the fitness of hooker Stephen Moore, who strained his hamstring. McIllraith said uncapped Queensland Reds hooker James Hanson is on his way to South Africa to cover for Moore.

If the 29-year-old does not play on Saturday, he will remain level with Jeremy Paul on 72 caps as Australia’s most-capped hooker.

The Wallabies will announce their team on Thursday afternoon.

South Africa’s forwards coach Johann van Graan said on Tuesday that he was delighted with the pack’s performance in their last outing, but added that they will need to replicate that effort in order to beat Australia in their Rugby Championship match in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Springboks dominated New Zealand up front in Dunedin on September 15, but their effort was marred by terrible goal-kicking that saw the South Africans waste 20 points and lose 21-11.

“We’ve worked hard the last few weeks and the front row gave one of their best performances and the loose forwards got stuck in as well. We can improve on the lineout, where we lost a couple of balls, but the kick-offs were good and so was the ball-retention – we had our lowest turnover rate of the whole year. Francois Louw did very well, especially on the ground, while Duane Vermeulen was good at the breakdown too.

“I’m really proud of the performance against the All Blacks, we played some of our best rugby and to have 58% territory and 52% possession against them at home is a great effort. But unfortunately we just didn’t get the points,” Van Graan told a news conference in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

But Van Graan warned that the Wallabies, led by Nathan Sharpe, the grand old man of Australian rugby, would be another major challenge up front.

“Australia scrummed very well against us in Perth and Nathan Sharpe is one of the best locks of all time, so their lineout is tricky and they kick to different places to put you under pressure. Playing against the number two side in the world is always a massive challenge,” Van Graan said.

Experienced Springbok tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis said that while the Alll Blacks were a daunting physical prospect in the scrums, the Wallabies were clever, strategic scrummagers.

“The Australian scrum is different. While the All Blacks view scrums in the same mould as us, as a place to exert physical dominance over the opposition, the Wallabies are much more tactical, they know what they want from certain areas of the field.

“So it’s a big challenge against them, they have a great loosehead in Benn Robinson and he scrums well with Tatafu Polota-Nau, they’re both short and stocky,” Du Plessis said.

While Du Plessis and fellow prop Tendai Mtawarira were the only members of the Dunedin pack to have more than 30 caps, the qualified doctor said that inexperience helped create a never-say-die attitude.

“There are some advantages to inexperience, because those players are hungry and will play better than someone who has played a hundred tests and has a ‘been there, done that’ attitude. As they say, a hungry dog hunts best,” Du Plessis said.

Van Graan said it was important the Springboks showed an improvement in Pretoria on Saturday and took another step in their evolution.

“You can always improve and evolve and we started with the base, it’s about finding your feet at this level. But we’ve grown a lot, there’s been a lot of progression, our ball-retention and contesting on the ground is much better. You evolve step-by-step and we hope we take another step on Saturday. Hopefully we can go from a good performance to a great winning performance,” Van Graan said.

The assistant coach also highlighted the need for better defence against a top-class attacking team like Australia.

“The Wallabies are a big threat, especially with their reverse attacking lines, Digby Ioane and Dom Shipperley in particular. We will have to improve our defence and hope our kicking game is spot on.”

Van Graan also said better decision-making on attack would be crucial.

“Some stuff in Dunedin worked well but in these close tests, which they all are in the Rugby Championship, you need special moments from special players to change games, like Bryan Habana’s try. We’re expecting quite a quick game and, against defences that are a lot better at international level, you need to convert your opportunities into points. There were quite a few chances in both Dunedin and Perth that should have been points and it’s about making better decisions,” Van Graan said.

South Africa will name their team on Wednesday, with experienced inside centre Francois Steyn unlikely to be chosen as he was still on crutches on Tuesday after rolling his ankle the previous day.

Heyneke Meyer is not the sort of coach to make sallies into a brave new world willy nilly, but even if he did want to introduce a new dimension to Springbok flyhalf play this weekend against Australia, the fates seem to be conspiring against him.

With Morne Steyn clearly in desperate need of a break to regain his form and confidence and Johan Goosen having shown he has the stomach for Test rugby even at the tender age of 20, there were high hopes that there might have been a changing of the guard at flyhalf for Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies.

That was until Francois Steyn rolled his ankle at practice on Monday and Goosen had to train barefoot because of a bruised heel.

Francois Steyn’s absence would rob the team of 53 caps worth of experience at inside centre and Meyer might be loath to introduce a new starting flyhalf because of that. Even moving Jean de Villiers to 12 doesn’t  solve the problem, because then either Juan de Jongh, with just 10 caps, or the uncapped Jaco Taute will have to play at outside centre.

While many would like to see Morne Steyn on holiday, lying on the beach with his hands on his tummy, Meyer explained on Monday that not choosing the 28-year-old in the Springbok squad would not have helped because, due to the South African Rugby Union not having full control over their contracted players, he would have just been snapped up the struggling Bulls to play Currie Cup rugby.

“The pressure won’t go away for him, the Bulls are also under pressure. It’s best to keep him involved with us, he’s taken a lot of criticism, but you’re still working with a human being and I can see that he is himself again back at home,” Meyer said. “I’m not just going to throw Morne away, he just kicked badly and Johan Goosen is not 100 percent fit and I’ve been bringing him through slowly. If I bowed to public pressure, then I would change the team every week.”

Lock Flip van der Merwe, who took his chance with both hands when he started against the All Blacks in Dunedin, is troubled by what team doctor Craig Roberts described as “a very mild calf strain,” while prop Coenie Oosthuizen, who played just once in the Green and Gold against England in June before injuring his neck, is suffering from “general stiffness” having returned to action with 35 minutes for the Free State Cheetahs at the weekend.

Wing Lwazi Mvovo (tight hamstring) and flank Jacques Potgieter (groin) are other players who will be managed with a gentle touch this week.

The Springboks were in touching distance of both the Wallabies and All Blacks in their last two matches and Meyer is confident they can restore the public’s faith by winning their last two Rugby Championship games in Pretoria and Soweto.

“It will definitely be different playing here. We should have won overseas and in the past we’ve done well at home,” Meyer said. “I have a good feeling about this team, it’s definitely developing, there’s a great vibe.

“We had three tough away games in a row, the only team to have that, so it’s great to be back at home and the players are a lot more relaxed. At first with a new, inexperienced team and a new coach, there are going to be doubts and a lack of self-belief. But I could see against Australia and the All Blacks that the players knew that they could win.”

Those hoping for a radical change in how the Springboks approach these next two Tests should not hold their breath, however. Meyer made it clear on Monday that his strategy will still be arm-wrestling the opposition into submission.

“In Test rugby, the teams are so close (in standard) and there’s not as much space, so it’s an arm-wrestle. There’s been a lot of talk about the game plan, but I thought we played them perfectly. We had more chances to win but we didn’t convert that pressure into points,” the Springbok coach said.

So dazzling the opposition is out, but Meyer does recognise the need for better attacking play.

“I was a bit cross today because the players have to get that mindset that if they break the line, then they must finish. They mustn’t look around and stop,” Meyer said.

Despite the injuries, there was a definite sense of the tough last few weeks being eradicated from the memory banks as the Springboks trained energetically and enthusiastically in the stadium where Meyer perfected the blueprint that he will continue to back against the best teams in the world.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-25-the-gospel-according-to-heyneke-meyer-springboks-down-but-not-out