Ken Borland

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.

Australia utility back Adam Ashley-Cooper said on Monday that injured flyhalf Quade Cooper’s comments on the squad, in which he roasted the camp for having a “toxic environment”, would not be a distraction as the Wallabies prepare for their Rugby Championship Test against South Africa in Pretoria on Saturday.

“There’s a lot of people who are afraid to say what they feel so they just go along with it and nothing is going to change,” Cooper told Australian Associated Press at the weekend. “That’s why I feel so strongly as a player. I don’t want to be involved in the toxic environment, and that’s how it is at the moment.”

Cooper has also tweeted his displeasure at Wallabies coach Robbie Deans’ game plan, saying he was only allowed to play the attacking brand of rugby he favours from “February to May” at the Queensland Reds in SuperRugby.

But Ashley-Cooper said there was a very convivial mood in the Wallabies camp.

“I’m not aware of what the tweets are saying, but you can’t ignore social media, it’s a big part of the game. But it won’t be a distraction for us.

“There’s a great buzz in the squad and we’re excited to be here. We’ve had two good wins and we feel that we’re building as a group,” Ashley-Cooper told a news conference in Johannesburg on Monday.

While Australia have come from behind to win their last two Tests, against South Africa and Argentina, Deans is still under enormous pressure at home, mainly due to his record of just two wins in his last 16 matches against the All Blacks for the Bledisloe Cup.

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer is also feeling the heat with his team managing just a win and a draw against Argentina thus far in the Rugby Championship.

“I think the Springboks are facing similar challenges to us with a lot of injuries and having to give opportunities to younger blokes. But those youngsters bring a lot of enthusiasm and energy which the older guys can feed off.

“The Springboks are coming off two disappointing losses so they’ll be pretty motivated and we expect it to be really tough to win in Pretoria.

“The challenge is greater for us away from home, we have two really tough games on a pretty tough trip and with the travel conditions added in, so there’s no room for complacency,” Ashley-Cooper said.

The 28-year-old veteran of 71Tests and numerous SuperRugby games against the Pretoria-based Bulls said Loftus Versfeld would not be a place for the faint-hearted on Saturday.

“Playing at Loftus is always pretty tough, you’re usually up against quality opposition there and a hostile crowd that they feed off. Plus the altitude and the pace of the game there means it’s always a challenge. A win is something we’ve never achieved before in Pretoria, we came close in 2010 [31-44], so there’s a lot of motivation for us,” Ashley-Cooper said.

Australia’s coaching co-ordinator, Tony McGahan, said despite criticism that the Springboks’ game plan was dull and conservative in comparison to the Wallabies’, every top international team employed similar tactics.

“Generally, most sides have the same principles with just small variations from week-to-week depending on the opposition and the conditions. But the core values are set in stone.

“You need a bit of both possession and territory. You use possession to gain territory and that’s how you control the scoreboard, converting field position into points. It will continue to be that way in test rugby.

“There will be more cause to have a penalty against you when you’re running the ball out of your own half, but you tend to get more favour from possession on attack. It also depends on the quality of your possession,” McGahan said.

Australia will name their team for Saturday’s Test on Thursday, while South Africa’s squad will be announced on Wednesday.

Perhaps Heyneke Meyer didn’t want to spoil the actual team announcement on Wednesday, or he’s afraid of irreparably damaging fragile psyches, but the Springbok coach on Saturday night announced an expanded 30-man squad with three flyhalves and three fullbacks included for the home Rugby Championship Tests against Australia and New Zealand.

That meant that despite adding the Lions duo of Elton Jantjies and Jaco Taute to the mix, there was still place for Morne Steyn and Zane Kirchner, the two most unpopular selections in his teams this year.

Thankfully, the selection of the Springbok team is not a popularity contest, because that would be catastrophically fickle, but Lady Luck has clearly turned her face away from Steyn, with even his kicking boots deserting him. She could well look in Steyn’s direction again, but what the 28-year-old clearly needs is a break from the game and the chance to rediscover himself, his form and confidence, perhaps in Currie Cup rugby with the Bulls.

Instead, the embattled flyhalf will have to pitch up for Springbok duty again, face the uncertainty of playing for his place and feel all the pressure and ugly, nasty public vitriol all over again. For someone who prides himself on getting the best out of his players, it seems cruel that Meyer will subject Steyn to that again, rather than a sympathetic arm around the shoulder and a “Listen, you’re still a great player but I think you need a break” chat.

Or is Meyer hoping that a few sleeps at home will be a miracle cure for Steyn and the confidence that has so steadily been eroded all year will suddenly return?

Common sense would dictate that the starting flyhalf berth will now be between the 20-year-old Goosen, who has looked to the manner born in his half-an-hour of Test rugby thus far, and Jantjies, surely the most in-form pivot in South Africa at the moment, whose all-round brilliance has led the Lions to the top of the Currie Cup log.

But will Meyer back them? The fact that he has not yet summoned the courage to drop Steyn suggests he struggles to have complete confidence in players he does not know intimately.

The same has happened at fullback, where Pat Lambie and Taute could bring some attacking flair, if only Meyer would back them. Zane Kirchner has been solid and done little wrong, but he does not bring any inspiration to a backline that has only played in fits and starts.

The hedging of bets can also be seen in the selection of four tighthead props in Jannie du Plessis, Pat Cilliers, CJ van der Linde and Coenie Oosthuizen, although the latter two are also comfortable in the number one jersey. But at least some good sense can be seen in that over-supply, because both Du Plessis and Cilliers have been struggling with injury.

Lock Eben Etzebeth is also back in the fold after being suspended for an ineffectual headbutt and the battle for three second-row places in the 22-man squad will be intriguing.

Flip van der Merwe, Juandre Kruger and Andries Bekker did their chances no harm at all with their committed performances in Dunedin and Meyer may well want to bed down the forward combinations that surprised everyone by dominating the All Blacks on their home turf. But Etzebeth has enjoyed a dream year thus far.

Squad:

Pat Lambie, Zane Kirchner, Bryan Habana, Jean de Villiers, Juan de Jongh, Francois Steyn, Jaco Taute, Francois Hougaard, Lwazi Mvovo, Johan Goosen, Elton Jantjies, Morne Steyn, Ruan Pienaar, Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, Jacques Potgieter, Francois Louw, Marcell Coetzee, Juandre Kruger, Andries Bekker, Flip van der Merwe, Eben Etzebeth, Jannie du Plessis, Pat Cilliers, Adriaan Strauss, Tiaan Liebenberg, Craig Burden, Tendai Mtawarira, CJ van der Linde, Coenie Oosthuizen.

– http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-23-rugby-lady-luck-vs-morne-steyn