Ken Borland

It is palpably unfair, but Springbok captain Jean de Villiers is painfully aware that if his team lose to the world champion All Blacks at Soccer City on Saturday then general opinion in the country will be that South African rugby is going to the dogs.

An impressive 31-8 victory last weekend over Australia lifted the mood, but has also created unfair expectations that the Springboks are favourites to beat New Zealand, who boast 939 test caps compared to South Africa’s paltry 490, and are, of course, the World Cup holders and unbeaten in 15 matches stretching back a year.

“We need to keep on evolving and, in this country, that’s usually judged by the result alone. If we put on a bad show, then we’re back where we started. We gained some momentum last weekend, and we want to build some more to take with us on the end-of-year tour,” De Villiers said on Friday.

“We played very well last weekend, but the pressure is still on us to perform. Australia had injury upon injury during that game, which definitely had an impact, so we’re not suddenly thinking we’re a great team. We’re happy with the improvement shown, but we’re very aware that we need to step up to another level this weekend.”

South Africa overwhelmed the Wallabies and did enough up front to beat the All Blacks in Dunedin in their last two outings and that has definitely added to the expectation.

But the All Blacks received plenty of flak from their fans for that performance in Dunedin and are also chasing the world record for successive wins, currently sitting on 15 with just three more needed to equal Lithuania’s mark set in 2010.

And that means Richie McCaw’s men have a point to prove and will come out firing.

“Our big goal is to be better than we were 12 months ago and if we don’t get things right tomorrow, then we’ll undo a lot of the good work we’ve done. Even though we’ve won the Rugby Championship, there’s still this big challenge ahead of playing the Springboks at home. It will be a huge test of where we are as a team,” McCaw said.

Eighthman Kieran Read was even more demanding in his analysis of what was riding on the game.

“It would really cement our number one status to win away from home against one of the top sides. If we don’t win, then a lot of what we’ve achieved goes out the window. To be number one, you can’t just win at home and it’s really important to win this weekend, there’s no bigger challenge than playing the Springboks at home,” Read said.

The one area where the hosts should definitely show an improvement as compared to their last match against the All Blacks will be in turning their possession into attacking opportunities.

With Johan Goosen making his first start at flyhalf, they scored five tries against Australia and could of scored more, thanks to an attacking edge that had been absent until then.

De Villiers will not place the hopes of the team in one man, especially one so young and still relatively unproven at the highest level, but he did confirm the 20-year-old Free Stater would be a key figure.

“Johan will be under pressure, but not a lot seems to bother him, he just gets on with the job. The bigger the event, the bigger his response seems to be. He’s a great player with unbelievable talent and a good head on his shoulders,” De Villiers said.

McCaw acknowledged Goosen’s threat.

“Goosen certainly played well last week, he got good ball and used it well so guys like Bryan Habana could benefit. He certainly backs himself and we’ve seen his ability with the Cheetahs in SuperRugby, so we’ll have to keep an eye on him and limit the amount of good ball he gets,” McCaw said.

While the All Blacks must be favourites on Saturday and will surely not deviate much from their expansive, fast-paced game that likes to get the ball wide, there is still plenty of intrigue surrounding the match, the 85th in this great rivalry between the two greatest rugby nations.

De Villiers is relishing the cat-and-mouse build-up to what should be an epic occasion on the outskirts of Soweto.

“We expect anything from the All Blacks, this mental battle, trying to outwit each other, that’s what’s great about Test match rugby. But we have an idea what we think they’re going to bring to the table,” the Springbok skipper said.

The Springboks will be tested in the scrums by the quality front row of Woodcock, Hore and Owen Franks, although Jannie du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss and Tendai Mtawarira have been in good form themselves.

We can expect an almighty tussle in the lineouts, New Zealand coach Steve Hansen recognising South Africa’s strength in that area by choosing Adam Thomson in the squad ahead of a more traditional openside flank in Sam Cane.

The All Blacks obviously have proven match-winners in McCaw and flyhalf Dan Carter, but Duane Vermeulen and Francois Louw were destructive forces in the ruck last weekend in Pretoria and it will be vital that they keep the New Zealand loosies in check.

The All Blacks backs are the obvious danger. The masterful Carter has the world’s most accomplished current centre pairing in Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith to work with, while the attacking threat posed by the back three of Israel Dagg, Cory Jane and Hosea Gear is the stuff of nightmares.

If the kicking game is not absolutely spot-on, or the chase is tardy in any way, the All Blacks will punish the Springboks.

The previous rugby Test at Soccer City proves the point. With the scores tied up at 22-22 in the final minute, Nonu broke from deep and Dagg finished a spectacular match-winning try.

The All Blacks have shown a liking for the big stage and with over 90,000 people expected in Nasrec on Saturday, they will be out to dazzle.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-10-06-boks-vs-all-blacks-the-heat-is-on

Coach Heyneke Meyer on Wednesday launched a possible new era in Springbok rugby when he named 20-year-old Johan Goosen as the starting flyhalf for the Rugby Championship Test against Australia at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

While Meyer will probably consider the selection a brave move, it was always the only sensible one with Morne Steyn suffering such an obvious loss of form and confidence.

Meyer, whose linguistic gymnastics in trying to deny Steyn is being rested or dropped amused the horde of journalists gathered for the team announcement at Montecasino, stressed that the prolific 28-year-old points-scorer was not being thrown into the wilderness.

“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 said.

Whether Steyn will be able to add to his 41 Test caps and 486 points – the second-most for the Springboks – will depend on how well Goosen and Elton Jantjies, who is on the bench on Saturday, take their chances.

Meyer did suggest that his long-term vision revolves around the two youngsters taking South Africa through to the 2015 World Cup.

“It’s great that going forward to the World Cup – and I know there’s still a long way to go – we have such depth at flyhalf. 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.

“As far as Elton goes, we know how strong his kicking game is and I would not put a player in the 22-man squad if I did not have full confidence in him,” Meyer said.

Jantjies, despite being in and around the Springbok squad since 2010, is yet to play a Test and there is a good chance a second debutant will be in action in Pretoria in Jaco Taute.

Inside centre Francois Steyn has been battling a twisted ankle all week and then he aggravated the injury trying to run on Wednesday, and Taute has been earmarked to take his place in midfield if the 2007 World Cup winner does not pass a fitness test on Friday.

But Meyer is rightly concerned about having debutants at 10 and 12 and confirmed on Wednesday that if Frans Steyn is unable to play, then captain Jean de Villiers will shift back to his more accustomed position at inside centre and Taute will slot in at number 13.

“I don’t want new caps at both 10 and 12, so Jean will play 12 if Frans doesn’t make it. Jaco played some great rugby at outside centre in SuperRugby, he would have been in my 22 from day one if he wasn’t injured and he’s 106kg and can run 100m in 10.7 seconds,” Meyer said.

There will be some, especially in the Western Cape, who will be unhappy that Taute has seemingly leapfrogged Juan de Jongh, who was bracketed with the Lions player on the bench.

“It’s tough on Juan, he’s brilliant on defence and he runs great lines. But I looked at the way Australia defend and I went for horses-for-courses with Jaco. It’s also easier if the new guy starts because if he struggles, then you can bring the more experienced guy on and Juan is a very good impact player,” Meyer explained.

Even though locks Flip van der Merwe and Juandre Kruger were brilliant in Dunedin, they have both been demoted, with Van der Merwe at least finding a place on the bench. Again, Meyer said it was a horses-for-courses selection as Eben Etzebeth and Andries Bekker were announced as the starting locks for the Pretoria Test.

“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.

It means the Springboks are going into the Loftus Versfeld Test with their tallest possible lineout and an all-Stormers trio of jumpers with Duane Vermeulen at eighthman. Tiaan Liebenberg is also the reserve hooker.

But it is the highly-rated Goosen who will be under the most scrutiny and Springbok vice-captain Adriaan Strauss, his captain at the Free State Cheetahs, is confident the youngster is going to handle the expectation with aplomb.

“It’s great to see Johan get an opportunity, even though Morne Steyn is an exceptional player. He might be a bit nervous when he’s in the moment, but I don’t think it will get the better of him. As I told him, if there’s one player I’ve seen who can handle pressure, it’s Johan. It’s his best attribute,” Strauss said.

Meyer also promised that Goosen will be able to take the attack to the Wallabies as he is wont to do with the Cheetahs.

“Every player is encouraged to play the situation as they see it, I say to every player that he must just be himself because that’s why I chose him. But there’s always going to be more space and line-breaks at Currie Cup level, so the public mustn’t expect too much,” Meyer said.

The public will be eager for Goosen to make a rapid impression. But it will be even more important for the Springboks just to win, in whatever fashion. And then all will be well again in South African rugby.