Ken Borland

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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.”

England fullback Mike Brown has been ruled out of the Test series against South Africa with a fractured thumb and will be replaced by Bath’s Nick Abendanon, team management confirmed on Monday.

Abendanon has already joined up with the squad ahead of the second Test against the Springboks on Saturday in Johannesburg, where he attended the weekend wedding of Bath team-mate Pieter Dixon.

The 25-year-old Abendanon was born in Johannesburg and made his Test debut in nearby Pretoria against the Springboks in 2007. He earned his second and last Test cap against France at Twickenham later that year.

Harlequins star Brown will return home for an operation on his thumb.

England’s backline will have to be further shuffled for the second Test after Brad Barritt, another South African-born player, underwent a minor operation at the weekend for a lacerated eyeball.

“Barritt won’t figure in this week’s games, but will join us in Johannesburg later this week,” England media manager Dave Barton told Reuters on Monday.

The 25-year-old Barritt has remained in Durban, where he was resident when he began his professional career with the Natal Sharks, because he is not yet able to fly.

Abendanon took a full part in training on Monday and will come into contention for selection for the team to play the Southern Barbarians in Kimberley on Wednesday. That team will be announced later on Monday.

South Africa staged a second-half rally to beat England 22-17 in the first Test in Durban last weekend, with tries scored by flyhalf Morne Steyn and centre and new captain Jean de Villiers, although the tourists were outdone up front by the Springbok pack.

Springbok loosehead prop Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira on Sunday attributed South Africa’s dominant scrummaging display against England to systematic work during the week with new scrum coach and former France star Pieter de Villiers.

The Springbok scrum dismantled England at the set-piece, helping to set up a 22-17 victory in Durban in the first test. England conceded two penalties and three free kicks at the scrum as South Africa’s starting front row of Mtawarira, hooker Bismarck du Plessis and tighthead Jannie du Plessis dominated from the outset, before replacement prop Coenie Oosthuizen and hooker Adriaan Strauss carried on the good work in the final quarter.

“We worked very hard on our scrum and had some good sessions during the week with Pieter de Villiers and it was a good start. He was a great scrummager in his time and he is a great well of knowledge, the best guy to learn from,” Mtawarira told reporters in Johannesburg on Sunday.

“Everyone was able to do as expected of him and we had a couple of new faces [debutant Oosthuizen and the recalled Strauss] that gelled together well. We can definitely take a lot of confidence out of our scrumming in the first test.”

De Villiers, who is South African-born but played 69 tests in the French front row, has been putting the Springboks through a gut-wrenching core-strengthening regimen that has seen them spending a lot of time crawling on the ground, but these exercises have provided tremendous muscle and also helped the home side dominant the crucial collisions in the second half against England.

“We needed to get used to each other in the first half, but in the second half we got into our game, we got on the front foot,” Mtawarira, who was at the forefront of the battle in the tight-loose, said.

While England’s recalcitrance at the scrum cost them points, it also proved a morale-booster for the Springbok backline.

“You can get a lot of penalties at the scrum now with the new rules and it needs to be a major focus. But it also gives a front-foot platform to launch attacks from and set up better field-position,” replacement back Pat Lambie said.

Lambie came on for the second half and helped the Springboks to two second-half tries, having replaced fullback Zane Kirchner, who suffered a knee injury.

Springbok media manager De Jongh Borchardt said Kirchner’s fitness was the one serious injury concern, while Jannie du Plessis, wing Bryan Habana, centre Jean de Villiers and scrumhalf Francois Hougaard all suffered facial lacerations in a no-holds-barred contest.

Lambie said the Springboks, under new coach Heyneke Meyer and a new captain in De Villiers, were very nervous ahead of the test.

“We were relieved to win because there were a lot of nerves yesterday. It’s just really nice to get the first one behind us, everyone’s chuffed to get the win out of the way. Everyone’s a bit more relaxed now. Last week, being our first week together, there was a lot to take in, but this week it will be nice to be able to focus on the things we need to work on,” Lambie said.

While all attention is currently focused on South Africa’s upcoming battle with England for the number one Test ranking, ODI captain AB de Villiers is eager to avoid any thoughts of the trip to Britain being a split tour.

Five one-day internationals and three T20 matches follow the three-Test series and De Villiers said he was adamant his team would not make the same mistake as in 2008 when they won the Test series 2-1 but were then hammered 4-0 in the limited-overs series.

“The last time we lost 4-0 which left a bad taste in my mouth, so we have a lot to prove. That was the big negative from that tour, that we relaxed after the test series win. But I won’t allow the boys to relax. There’s a new feeling in the team, a lot of young guys are coming through. There’s a lot of hunger and pride around and we want to start well and play consistently throughout the tour,” De Villiers told SuperSport.com on Thursday.

De Villiers was speaking at the announcement in Sandton of a new six-year sponsorship deal between Momentum and Cricket South Africa for all 50-overs cricket, both one-day internationals and domestically.

The deal is believed to be worth around R200 million and De Villiers said the team was delighted to have the backing of the respected financial services company.

“It’s great to have that confidence behind us, it shows we’re still a very strong brand with the way we represent the country. Momentum is also a massive word in cricketing terms and we want to keep momentum and not relax. We also need to show resilience and the way we turned a 2-0 series lead in New Zealand in the one-dayers into a 3-0 win made me massively proud,” De Villiers said.

The 28-year-old was one of the stars of the recently-completed IPL so his batting form is certainly cause for optimism ahead of the England tour.

“I’m enjoying my cricket more than ever, the added responsibility of the captaincy has been a great challenge, but it’s brought out the best in my batting, just being able to express yourself,” De Villiers said.

South Africa’s 11th ODI captain’s last assignment was the successful New Zealand trip and De Villiers said he now feels comfortable in the job of skipper.

“I was feeling quite comfortable with it in New Zealand and I got a good feel for the job. I wasn’t perfect but I learnt a lot and there’s still a bit to learn. Mostly about man-management and handling the various personalities.

“It’s a lot easier on tour because things are more settled and structured. You have more control of the guys and the mood because everyone’s on the same bus and nobody’s staying at home. It’s all about keeping the guys in a hungry state, just a couple of words at the right time can switch them on again, and leading by example as well of course,” De Villiers said.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120608/ODIs_also_vital_in_England_AB