Springbok BMW brand ambassador Q&As 0
Posted on
August 26, 2014 by
Ken
Boks focus on laying the platform, not the bonus point 0
Posted on
August 15, 2014 by
Ken
The Springboks will be putting aside thoughts of the bonus point and will be concentrating on laying the platform for victory in their Rugby Championship Test against Argentina in Pretoria on Saturday, captain Jean de Villiers said on Friday.
Coach Heyneke Meyer began the week by stressing the importance of obtaining bonus points, and previous results, both against Argentina and at Loftus Versfeld, merely increase the expectation.
The Pumas’ four previous visits to the Highveld have always resulted in the Springboks running riot, winning 73-13 last year in Soweto, 63-9 at Ellis Park in 2008, 49-29 in Springs in 2002, and 46-26 in Johannesburg in 1994.
Since winning the series against the British and Irish Lions there in a three-point thriller in 2009, Loftus Versfeld has also been a high-scoring venue for the Springboks – beating Australia 44-31 in 2010 and 31-8 in 2012, and Samoa 56-23 last year.
But De Villiers preached caution on Friday.
“Argentina have selected a very strong side and we’re not looking past tomorrow, which is our most important game. We ended the incoming tours well and now we need to take that momentum into the Rugby Championship.
“Whatever happened before is in the past, it’s a brand new ball game. We have to start well and focus on what we do as individuals and collectively.
“It’s really about getting the first phases right and getting a platform. We’re not thinking about the bonus point, we’ll get the result if all the processes are in place, if we tick all those boxes,” De Villiers said.
The Pumas’ tight five has just 105 caps between them, compared to the 251 of their Springbok counterparts, but the Argentina loose trio is a force to be reckoned with, boasting the experienced Juan Manuel Leguizamon and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, and the prodigious talent of Pablo Matera.
“They certainly have a good loose trio, they’re all quality players. Leguizamon and Lobbe have been around for a while and it’s going to be a real challenge at the breakdown, they’ve shown what we can do there.
“But I’m looking forward to the battle of the breakdown because we’ve got a good combination there as well,” De Villiers said.
The Pumas backline certainly has the potential to stretch the Springbok defences, especially with the increasingly expansive approach new coach Daniel Hourcade is advocating.
“Their nine [Martin Landajo] and 10 [Nicolas Sanchez] are an established combination and I played with Martin Landajo at the Barbarians, he’s a very good player.
“They have a lot of experience in midfield, Juan Martin Hernandez is a very gifted player and Marcelo Bosch has done really well at Saracens. So they will definitely challenge us defensively and we’ll need to be at our best,” De Villiers said.
The Pumas are streets ahead of the Springboks in terms of preparation, having been in camp for six weeks compared to just the two weeks Meyer has had to work with De Villiers and company.
But the Springbok captain said his team were happy with their preparation.
“It’s more time together than we’ve had in the past and we’re very happy with our preparation.”
Argentina could, in fact, have over-trained for the Test, with Hourcade apparently having his team out on the field three times a day.
Significantly for the Springboks, Saturday’s Test will mark the first Rugby Championship starts for flyhalf Handre Pollard, outside centre Damian de Allende and right wing Cornal Hendricks.
De Villiers, appearing in his 97th Test, will play between Pollard and De Allende and he said he was looking forward to guiding two of the future stars of Springbok rugby.
“It’s great to see guys come through and get their opportunity, Handre and Damian have showed that they are good enough.
“Handre showed in Port Elizabeth against Scotland that he ticks all the boxes as a world-class flyhalf. I’m very excited to play next to him for the first time, I’ve watched him since he started playing for the same school as me [Paarl Gymnasium] and it’s great to see how well he’s done,” De Villiers said.
The Pumas will undoubtedly be tricky customers on Saturday, but the Springboks need to win well in order to reinforce their standing as the All Blacks’ nearest challengers.
Not many Tests left for Jean, so he’s extra-hungry 0
Posted on
August 07, 2014 by
Ken
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!”
Charismatic Jean is back, but where to play him? 0
Posted on
August 04, 2014 by
Ken
The charismatic leadership of Jean de Villiers makes him a certainty for South Africa’s starting line-up whenever he is fit, but Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer’s toughest selection decision for the Rugby Championship revolves around his captain’s position.
While the return of Victor Matfield and his stepping into the captaincy while De Villiers was injured during the incoming tours certainly did not curdle the Springboks’ play nor team cohesion, Meyer made it clear on Monday that the Stormers man would return for the Rugby Championship.
But factors beyond Meyer’s control have dished up a selection quandary for the Springbok coach.
In the absence of the unavailable JP Pietersen and Frans Steyn, the injured Jaque Fourie and the out-of-form JJ Engelbrecht, there is a dearth of outside centres in the squad.
But the specialist centres who have been named – De Villiers, Jan Serfontein and new cap Damian de Allende – are all more comfortable in the number 12 jersey.
So who should play in the number 13 top? Serfontein was outstanding at inside centre during the incoming tours, while De Villiers has played outside centre several times for the Springboks. De Allende has all the attributes of a top international midfielder, but no experience at that level.
“We’ll certainly look at Jean at number 13, although I believe 12 is his best position,” Meyer said on Monday.
“Jan Serfontein was superb at inside centre during the incoming tours, while Damian de Allende has only played 13 at school. Damian can be a brilliant centre at international level, but we need to find the right position for him.
“I just know that when Jean played 13 outside Frans Steyn, although there were a few factors involved, we didn’t score many tries. I love Jean at 12 because of the way he organises play, he was probably the best inside centre in the world last year. He can crash the ball up, but he’s also got unbelievable hands and I prefer a number 12 who can move the ball and create space on the outside.
“We can’t just crash the ball up now in midfield because all the sides have big centres and I always want to get that width and get around teams on the outside. Jean is big and strong and he has unbelievable hands, but those three haven’t played much together,” Meyer explained.
But there are no guarantees yet that either De Villiers or De Allende are actually ready for Test rugby, having spent several weeks on the sidelines with injuries.
The Springboks began their camp in Johannesburg on Monday with medical examinations and, while the results of these are only likely to be known on Tuesday, Meyer admitted that there was some concern over the pair of Stormers centres.
“The players are busy with their medicals and a lot of them haven’t played for some time. Obviously Jean is a concern because although he has been training with Western Province, he hasn’t had any contact yet.
“The feedback we’ve had from Cape Town is that Damian has done well in training, but usually the problems only come out once we begin training.
“There are also guys like Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Beast and Pat Lambie who we just want to manage properly,” Meyer said.
The match readiness of Etzebeth will also decide the other main selection issue, which is the second row.
While Matfield has no real challengers for the number five jersey, who will play alongside him? Does Meyer opt for the experience of Bakkies Botha or the in-form Lood de Jager? Who then to put on the bench – Botha, Etzebeth or De Jager?
Meyer said the focus of this year’s Rugby Championship campaign will be the acquisition of the bonus points that were the major factor in 2013’s competition.
The fact that the Springboks had to chase the bonus point win in their last match against New Zealand – thereby ensuring the sort of open game the All Blacks love – was absolutely crucial in the final outcome.
“I think this year’s Rugby Championship will be the most difficult of the lot, historically the third year has been the most difficult for the Springbok coach.
“I think it’s going to come down to bonus points and if we don’t get bonus points against Argentina, like Australia and New Zealand did last year, and away from home if you don’t win, then we’re going to be under pressure to win both our games at home again. You must get bonus points to win this competition!
“We scored the most tries in world rugby last year, so we need to catch up to that momentum very quickly. I want to play total rugby, I want to play 15-man rugby, but our tactical kicking also really needs to improve. That was one of our downfalls last year, while New Zealand and Australia both had nines and 10s using tactical kicks,” Meyer said.
The absence of the injured Fourie du Preez is the major stumbling block to Meyer’s plans.
“Losing Fourie is an unbelievable setback, his tactical kicking is the biggest thing we’ll miss, but he is also the master on attack. He always picks up the right runners and last year we had a huge evolution in our attack in that we did it out of our own 22. Fourie is just an amazing tactical general,” the coach said.
“I want our scrumhalf to play more to the ball, to give the backline quick ball. We have a lot of scrumhalves in South Africa who are snipers and can score great individual tries, which is what the public sees, but we need a nine who can clean out quickly and give quality ball because we’re interested in team tries.”
The experienced Ruan Pienaar is probably the closest to Du Preez’s all-round skill set, with the utility talents of Francois Hougaard probably earning him a place on the bench.
The Sharks’ dismal SuperRugby semi-final performance – and the inaccuracy of the kicking by halfbacks Cobus Reinach and Lambie – is probably going to count against their chances of playing in the tournament opener against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld on August 16.