Ken Borland

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer will continue to rely on Morne Steyn as his flyhalf as the South Africans head into a daunting Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand in Dunedin on Saturday.

While Steyn seems to have his goal-kicking boots back on these days, his tendency to stand so deep on attack literally puts his backline on the back foot and the Springboks’ attacking efforts thus far in the competition have been timid in comparison to those of the mighty All Blacks.

Meyer has resisted the temptation to start with the 20-year-old Johan Goosen and there are good arguments to support his decision.

Throwing a baby (in international terms) into the cauldron of Test rugby in New Zealand, with your pack most probably going backwards and Richie McCaw, Kieran Read and Liam Messam running at you, could be catastrophic: both in the short-term (the match) and the long-term (Goosen’s overall confidence).

Never mind only owning one cap and seven or eight minutes of Test experience, Goosen has played less than an hour of rugby in the last four months thanks to the shoulder injury that ended his hugely promising SuperRugby campaign.

But in the short time that he was on the field in Perth, Goosen hit the line and beat defenders well, and we can only hope Meyer gives him even more game time this weekend – as Steyn, frankly, is not providing any spark or linking particularly well with his backline.

Pat Lambie has his supporters for the flyhalf position, but the Sharks talent has started just a single Test at number 10 before, last July in Wellington against the All Blacks, and that did not go well, the Springboks getting thumped 40-7 with a second-string side.

Game management/control is the one area of his play that Lambie still needs to work on (the Sharks preferred Freddie Michalak at flyhalf in SuperRugby) and it seems the 21-year-old’s role at international level at the moment will be limited to that of substitute.

Meyer has made two changes to the team that lost so disappointingly against Australia last weekend, both of them amongst the forwards.

Eben Etzebeth has been suspended for a feeble headbutt and Flip van der Merwe takes his place. Let’s hope the Bulls lock doesn’t see yellow.

The other change will add some much-needed pace and pressure on the ball. Although the Test is in New Zealand and an Arctic front has brought snow, high wind, sleet and rain to Dunedin, the match is being played in the Forsyth Barr Stadium, which has an enclosed roof.

As Meyer himself pointed out, it will be a bit like playing on a clear winter’s day in Pretoria, and that will suit the All Blacks’ fast-paced game perfectly. The Springboks will be in serious trouble if they don’t find a way to slow down their opposition’s ball, and Francois Louw has been brought into the starting line-up to do just that.

There are also changes to the bench, with Juan de Jongh called up to hopefully provide some much-needed attacking verve in midfield.

Dean Greyling, who can play both sides, is the reserve prop because of the uncertainty over the fitness of both tightheads in the squad, Jannie du Plessis and Pat Cilliers.

Critics of the Springboks’ recent form will be angry that Meyer has still not started on the road to adding a greater attacking dimension to his team. But the All Blacks on home turf are perhaps not the side you want to be facing when you’re setting out on a journey.

Besides, no one will be surprised that Meyer, who would call his conservatism continuity, has once again relied on what has served him well in the past.

The Springboks’ best chance of getting back on track is probably back home when they take on Australia at Loftus Versfeld on 29 September.

Team: 

15-Zane Kirchner, 14-Bryan Habana, 13-Jean de Villiers, 12-Francois Steyn, 11-Francois Hougaard, 10-Morne Steyn, 9-Ruan Pienaar, 8-Duane Vermeulen, 7-Willem Alberts, 6-Francois Louw, 5-Juandre Kruger, 4-Flip van der Merwe, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 1-Tendai Mtawarira. Substitutes – 16-Tiaan Liebenberg, 17-Dean Greyling, 18-Andries Bekker, 19-Marcell Coetzee, 20-Johan Goosen, 21-Juan de Jongh, 22-Pat Lambie.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-12-boks-vs-all-blacks-were-in-for-hellof-a-show

Springbok fans will be dying of embarrassment as one of the weakest Australian teams in recent memory won a record fifth successive Test against South Africa, 26-19 in Perth on Saturday.

This is an Australian team that has only one or two players that would be considered for a World XV, had lost their opening two Rugby Championship games, blanked by the All Blacks last time out, and were under immense pressure leading into the game.

That pressure only intensified in the first half as the Springboks strangled them, pinning them in their own territory for lengthy periods. Possession may have been 50/50, but South Africa spent 66% of the first half in Australian territory.

The Wallabies, on the verge of disarray, should have been put away in that first half, but these Springboks totally lack a ruthless touch, especially on attack.

Australia went into the shed relieved to be just 6-13 down and were a much-improved outfit in the second half.

But the Springboks still enjoyed 50% possession and 61% territory in the second half, yet they could score just six points. Frustratingly, good ball was kicked away when they were inside the Wallabies half, Morne Steyn missed a crucial penalty in the 50th minute and a lineout throw was lost inside the 22 in the dying moments.

South Africa’s much-maligned kicking game worked a treat in the first half, creating the platform for victory as Australia’s weak kickers simply could not get them out of their territory, resorting to disastrous grubbers.

But the Springboks were once again limp on attack. Apart from Bryan Habana, who popped up everywhere before he left the field with a leg injury in the 53rd minute, there was no spark. The backline looked pedestrian and simply did not gel, failing to seize on a number of opportunities when they created holes in the Wallabies defence.

While flyhalf Morne Steyn is the obvious target as scapegoat, there is another issue which coach Heyneke Meyer may have to wrestle with, and that is his captain, Jean de Villiers, at 13.

A fine captain and person, a great Springbok and a highly-respected inside centre De Villiers may be, but the 31-year-old didn’t threaten once on attack and, the one time he did find himself in space on the outside, he and replacement wing Lwazi Mvovo managed to get in each other’s way and the turnover ball and overlap yielded nothing.

That was in the 58th minute and, just two minutes earlier, De Villiers also missed the midfield tackle on Dom Shipperley that led to Scott Higginbotham’s try. South Africa have some right to feel hard done by, however, as the move started from a scrum penalty against them that even the Australian commentators agreed was unjust.

But the Springboks clearly also still have problems with their pillar defence around the fringes as Higginbotham burst between Willem Alberts and Steyn at a ruck in the shadow of the poles, while Australia’s second try, by prop Ben Alexander, also came after gaps were left close to the breakdown.

South Africa have a ready-made replacement captain when Schalk Burger is fit, although Meyer might prefer to move De Villiers to his favoured position at inside centre. The coach will then, however, have to sacrifice the physical presence and direct running of Francois Steyn that he loves so much at 12.

Meyer belatedly introduced Pat Lambie into Rugby Championship action in the last 10 minutes, but it was the debut of the 20-year-old Johan Goosen in place of Morne Steyn at flyhalf that perhaps shows the coach the way to go in future.

Goosen, in his brief cameo, showed a willingness to take the ball to the defence, beat tackles and generally just looked a better attacking option. Plus we all know there is nothing wrong with his boot, and he can tackle.

There are arguments, of course, that Meyer should wait before thrusting Goosen into a starting role against the All Blacks. But the longer he waits, the more the Springboks will frustrate on attack. What everyone agrees on, however, is that Goosen is bound to have a long international career.

Whether Meyer enjoys the same remains to be seen. He will plead that it is very difficult to turn naturally conservative players into attacking dynamos overnight. But to dominate a poor Wallaby team for so long and still not manage to put them away means he has to add something more adventurous, more incisive to the current mix.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-08-boks-with-no-spring

The Springboks opened their Rugby Championship campaign with two lacklustre attacking showings, but now their defensive prowess will be under the spotlight when they take on Australia in Perth on Saturday.

Even though the Wallabies failed to open their account in their last outing, losing 22-0 to New Zealand, they are a side known for their brilliant backline play and they have regularly carved up the Springboks en route to a record-equalling four successive wins over the South Africans.

This is one game where the Springboks’ preoccupation with the gain-line battle could be a good thing.

The Wallabies rely on quick, front-foot ball and the disorganised defences that come with it but, as the All Blacks showed, the skills of their backs are nullified when they’re going backwards.

The Springboks will start the undermining of the Australian platform in the set-pieces.

While both sides have in-form scrums, with Australia boasting one of the best looseheads in world rugby in Benn Robinson as well as the experienced Ben Alexander at tighthead, a strong Springbok lineout, boosted by the presence of Duane Vermeulen at the back, will hopefully work in concert with a much-improved tactical kicking game to ensure the Wallabies have to try all their fancy stuff from inside their own territory. Australia’s kickers – Berrick Barnes, Quade Cooper, Will Genia and Kurtley Beale – cannot match the distance Morne and Francois Steyn, Ruan Pienaar and Zane Kirchner are capable of getting.

In fact, they often prefer the little grubber through under pressure and it’s a pity Pat Lambie won’t be at fullback to counter-attack off such opportunities.

Vermeulen, his previous international hopes ravaged by injury, makes his long-awaited Test debut on Saturday and the Western Province man is a frightening prospect at boiling point. He will have to spearhead a much more physical display from the pack if South Africa are to have any hope of claiming the inaugural Rugby Championship trophy.

But it’s all very well being physical; however, the ball-carriers have to be smart as well. Too much hard-earned front-foot ball was wasted against Argentina because the carrier just blindly ran into a gang-tackle, was put on the ground and then robbed of the ball.

While the Cape’s demand to throw every ball to the wings can only lead to trouble at international level, the offload seems to be a forgotten skill amongst the Springboks. It stands to reason that if three people are trying to gang-tackle the ball-carrier, there must be two gaps somewhere – and that’s where the ball should go, post-haste!

A titanic clash between two of the most exciting scrumhalves in Francois Hougaard and Genia has been dashed by Hougaard’s move to the wing, but hopefully the 24-year-old will still get the chance to go flying down the left.
Genia is the Wallabies’ attacking general and it will be a disaster for the Springboks if they give him and elusive flyhalf Cooper space to attack with front-foot ball.

Cooper is barely a factor with slow ball but South Africa also has to be vigilant that its team does not supply potent counter-attackers such as Beale, Digby Ioane, Dominic Shipperley and Adam Ashley-Cooper with poorly-directed or badly chased kicks.

Australia also has to cope with a raft of injuries. Captains have had a particularly bad run with both lock James Horwill and loose forward David Pocock ruled out.

Nathan Sharpe, playing his 108th Test, brings a wealth of experience and plenty of grunt to the second row, while Pocock’s replacement, Michael Hooper, is a top-class prospect and also a major factor at the breakdown.
Other key players out injured are late withdrawal Stephen Moore, James O’Connor, Pat McCabe and Wycliff Palu.

It all just increases the pressure on the Wallabies, who will be expected to win at home, and let’s not forget that there has been even more of a song and dance about their coach, Robbie Deans, than the discontent Heyneke Meyer has had to face.

Winning in Australia may be too much to expect from this new-look Springbok team – South Africa has only won four Tests since 1993 Down Under (three of them in Perth though) – but fans will hope to see a much more clinical performance from the side, as well as much better use of its own ball.And, vitally, stopping Australia from playing (much like Argentina did to them in Mendoza) will increase that pressure and might lead to crucial mistakes from the hosts.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-07-rugby-championship-time-to-bok-up

The Springboks and Heyneke Meyer are on the back foot and the coach is relying on two changes to his forward pack and a new halfback to change their fortunes against Australia this weekend.

Meyer has always said he will target Australia up front in Perth on Saturday and the inclusion of Duane Vermeulen at eighthman and Juandre Kruger at lock should give the pack more vitality, with the emphasis on a greater ability to play hard on to the ball.

That means the same backline which failed to impress against Argentina will be running out on to the field, but with one significant change. Ruan Pienaar has sat on bench for all five Tests of the Meyer reign, but will get his big chance as the starting scrumhalf on Saturday.

Francois Hougaard, for all his natural talent, has looked hesitant as the vital link between forwards and backs, a round peg in the square hole of Meyer’s game plan. He has not been helped by an inexperienced pack that has struggled to give him front-foot ball, but his erratic service to Morne Steyn and the inaccuracy of his kicking have also spread the lack of momentum down the backline.

It’s not all bad news for Hougaard, however, as Meyer does fancy the X-factor he brings to the game and will start him on the left wing, where his Springbok career began so spectacularly in 2010. The 24-year-old will hope the rainy weather in Perth clears up and it is a dry day on Saturday that will suit his running skills.

But it is the Springbok pack that will have to rule the night at Subiaco if South Africa are to prevent the Wallabies from claiming a record fifth straight win against them. These are dark times for the much-vaunted strength of Springbok rugby with Bismarck du Plessis, Schalk Burger, Juan Smith, Gurthro Steenkamp, Pierre Spies and Chiliboy Ralepelle all out injured and Bakkies Botha and Ryan Kankowski unavailable. Plus the new boys in the Rugby Championship, Argentina, matched them up front and left them scratching their heads in search of answers.

Meyer’s answer is to go back to a strength that destroyed all comers in 2007 and 2009 – the lineout. Of course, the career of the kingpin of that set-piece, the talismanic Victor Matfield, is now over, but the Springbok coach has made it clear he wants to attack the Wallabies at source, at the set-pieces.

Vermeulen, as destructive a player you can get when fully fit, will finally make his Springbok debut at eighthman, but Meyer resisted the temptation to choose the whole Stormers lineout. With doubts over hooker Adriaan Strauss’s knee – he has trained just once this week – Tiaan Liebenberg could of made his first start in the number two jersey, Eben Etzebeth has impressed at number four and that might have earned Andries Bekker, who had no positive impact in Mendoza, a reprieve at five.

But Meyer has said Bekker is simply not fit enough at the moment. “Andries’ back is almost there and his ankle is almost there. I just wanted to give him a break because we know what we have in Andries. He is a quality player, but he has come through a few injuries and is probably not 100% fit. Juandre played really well against England and I wasn’t happy with our cleaning and the way we recycled ball against Argentina and Juandre plays more to the ball than Andries and we will need that on Saturday,” he said.

“Duane is a specialist number eight and is good in the lineout. Against Argentina, we gave them easy ball at the back of the lineout because we didn’t have a jumper there,” Meyer added.

With Vermeulen coming in at eight, there is a further change in the loose trio with Willem Alberts shifting to number seven in place of Jacques Potgieter, who was a disappointment against the Pumas.

Meyer controversially found no place in the touring squad for Keegan Daniel, who enjoyed a top-class SuperRugby campaign for the Sharks and is a dynamic, linking, offloading type of player. The coach had also previously indicated that a “horses-for-courses” selection policy should get Daniel a call-up against the Wallabies.

“Keegan was unlucky as I felt he could have come on against Australia because they fit his game plan more. But we don’t have a classical number eight at the moment with Pierre Spies and Ryan Kankowski out and as I said, Duane provides us with another lineout jumper,” Meyer explained. But why not a spot on the bench again for Daniel?

Meyer has instead gone for a fetcher in Francois Louw, a well-travelled flank who is currently enjoying a stint with Bath in England. “On the bench, I had to decide between an impact player or a specialist openside flank. If the referee is going to allow stealing of the ball at the rucks [Saturday’s official is Nigel Owens, a Welshman known to be more lenient at the breakdown], then I want to have a specialist openside,” Meyer said. “I’ve really been impressed with Francois Louw. When we did our ball-stealing drill he was superb on the ground and he looks in great condition. He is definitely going to get game-time on Saturday and I’m quite excited to see what he can bring to the party.”

But it’s not a fetcher stealing the opposition ball that the Springboks need most. It is better protection of their own ball at the rucks and for that to happen, the pack as a whole need to show more fire in the belly when it comes to clearing out.

“We have got quite a big back row and Francois gives us an insurance policy on the bench depending on how the game goes or how the ref interprets the breakdown,” said Meyer. “I want a higher work-rate from the back row. More ball carries and we have to break the line open as well. The one thing we don’t have in our back row, which is a little bit of a concern, is out-and-out pace but I think they make up for that with a big work-rate.

To ensure an 80-minute effort up front, Meyer had the opportunity to go for a 5-2 split on the bench with either two locks or two loose forwards amongst the reserves.

But the coach has selected three backs amongst the reserves, including the exciting 20-year-old flyhalf Johan Goosen – a surprisingly bold move by Meyer. “I believe that Goosen can be a world-class 10. He has got everything that you need from a flyhalf and I want to get him into the system as soon as possible, as well as getting him into the culture and the patterns of play because the 10 makes most of the calls.

“I want to give him some game-time as soon as possible, but it depends on what happens during Saturday’s game as Morne Steyn is one of our more experienced players,” he said.
Pat Lambie, who has frustratingly not seen any action off the bench in the last two games, and exciting wing Lwazi Mvovo are the other backline substitutes.

While their contributions in open play left much to be desired in Mendoza, the scrummaging is not broken so Meyer is unlikely to make changes in the front row, unless Strauss cannot play of course. If Liebenberg has to start, then the uncapped Craig Burden will be on the bench and he is a tremendous force in broken play, which could add some much-needed spark on attack.

Springbok team: 15-Zane Kirchner, 14-Bryan Habana, 13-Jean de Villiers, 12-Francois Steyn, 11-Francois Hougaard, 10-Morne Steyn, 9-Ruan Pienaar, 8-Duane Vermeulen, 7-Willem Alberts, 6-Marcell Coetzee, 5-Juandre Kruger, 4-Eben Etzebeth, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 1-Tendai Mtawarira. Bench- 16-Tiaan Liebenberg, 17-Pat Cilliers, 18-Flip van der Merwe, 19-Francois Louw, 20-Johan Goosen, 21-Pat Lambie, 22-Lwazi Mvovo.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-05-nervy-boks-prepare-for-must-win-wallabies-test