Ken Borland

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

New South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer named nine uncapped players and eight members of the 2007 World Cup-winning side, but failed to install a captain when he named his 32-man Springbok squad in Pretoria on Saturday for the three-Test series against England.

This follows the surprise omission of veteran scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, who had been widely tipped to captain the side.

“I have a lot of respect for Fourie, but he knows my motto is team first and I had a few meetings with him and he said he wasn’t 100% sure he’s at his best, having not played for two-and-a-half months. It was a hard decision to leave him out, but it shows the character of the man that he told me to go with the youngsters if I felt he was a 50/50 selection,” Meyer told a news conference.

“So I will chat to the senior players before naming my captain, probably at the team announcement on Wednesday, but maybe before.”

The nine uncapped players are loose forwards Marcell Coetzee and Jacques Potgieter, utility back JJ Engelbrecht, locks Eben Etzebeth, Juandre Kruger and Franco van der Merwe, flyhalf Elton Jantjies, prop Coenie Oosthuizen and scrumhalf Jano Vermaak.

Wings Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen, centres Jean de Villiers, Frans Steyn and Wynand Olivier, scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar, prop Jannie du Plessis and hooker Bismarck du Plessis are the returning members of the Springboks’ 2007 World Cup-winning squad, while 15 members of the squad also played in last year’s World Cup.

“This is a team that can play winning test rugby – brutal defence, big forwards running at each other, tactical kicking and direct rugby. This team can play to our typical South African strengths and the side that plays best to their pattern is normally the one that wins.

“I wanted to start the season with an experienced squad to face England, who are a good, tough side, but injuries have made this difficult,” Meyer said.

Loose forwards Schalk Burger, Duane Vermeulen and Juan Smith, and lock Andries Bekker were ruled out due to injury.

The coach said the surprise omission of flank Heinrich Brussow, one of the foremost ball-chasers in the game, follows the new law interpretations that have caused fetchers to concede more penalties.

“That was a tough call because Heinrich is still up with the best opensides in the game, but the game has changed. They’re being penalised more and hookers are stealing more ball now. If the laws change, which they will, then he’ll definitely be in the mix. But at the moment it’s up to him to adapt to the laws,” Meyer said.

Bulls centre JJ Engelbrecht, who is playing his first full season of SuperRugby, is an unexpected inclusion ahead of exciting Stormers backs Gio Aplon and Juan de Jongh, who were both members of the Springboks’ 2011 World Cup squad.

“Obviously I can’t please everybody, but JJ is an exciting guy for the future and I want time to work with him. He’s already an awesome winger and I believe he can develop into a world-class number 13,” Meyer said.

Meyer’s selection of just three players from the Stormers – who are top of the South African SuperRugby conference – has caused displeasure in Cape Town, with the former Bulls coach naming 13 Bulls and 10 Sharks players in his squad.

There are also two overseas-based players in the squad – Pienaar of Ulster and Frans Steyn, who has just signed with the Sharks (but has yet to play a game for them) after a three-year stint in France with Racing Metro.

South Africa play England in the first test in Durban next Saturday, followed by matches in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth.

Squad – Zane Kirchner (Bulls), Pat Lambie (Sharks), Bjorn Basson (Bulls), Bryan Habana (Stormers), Lwazi Mvovo (Sharks), JP Pietersen (Sharks), Jean de Villiers (Stormers), JJ Engelbrecht (Bulls), Frans Steyn (Racing Metro), Wynand Olivier (Bulls), Morne Steyn (Bulls), Elton Jantjies (Lions), Francois Hougaard (Bulls), Ruan Pienaar (Ulster), Jano Vermaak (Bulls), Pierre Spies (Bulls), Ryan Kankowski (Sharks), Willem Alberts (Sharks), Jacques Potgieter (Bulls), Marcell Coetzee (Sharks), Keegan Daniel (Sharks), Juandre Kruger (Bulls), Franco van der Merwe (Lions), Flip van der Merwe (Bulls), Eben Etzebeth (Stormers), Jannie du Plessis (Sharks), Werner Kruger (Bulls), Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks), Adriaan Strauss (Cheetahs), Chiliboy Ralepelle (Bulls), Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks), Coenie Oosthuizen (Cheetahs).

The Stormers hung on to the top spot in the South African Conference with a 19-14 (half-time 9-11) victory over the Bulls in the all-South African SuperRugby derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The Stormers were trailing 9-14 and pinned back in their own territory for most of the second half by the Bulls’ strong territorial kicking game and forwards who were dominant in the collisions, but the unerring boot of flyhalf Peter Grant kicked a penalty, before wing Bryan Habana scored a 69th-minute try to snatch the victory from the team he first made his name for.

The Bulls’ percentage rugby seemed to be wearing down the Stormers as flyhalf Morne Steyn kicked three penalties and eighthman Pierre Spies muscled over for a try after a free kick from a lineout inside the Stormers 22.

But it was the only try the Stormers’ brilliant defensive system allowed, despite the Bulls spending 66% of the match in their territory.

Flank Siya Kolisi, who had been an enormous defensive presence throughout, superbly evaded two on-rushing Bulls defenders, racing into the 22 and firing a pinpoint pass to Habana, who up till then had been limited to attacking off up-and-unders.

Grant kicked the conversion to stretch the lead to 19-14 and ensure the Bulls had to score a try in the last 10 minutes, a penalty not being enough to win.

With the Lions dealing a mortal blow to the Sharks with their shock victory in Johannesburg earlier on Saturday, the Stormers are now five points clear at the top of the South African Conference, with three matches to play against the lowly Lions, Cheetahs and Rebels.

The Stormers are on 54 points, in second place in the overall standings, with the Bulls on 49 and the Sharks on 45 with just two matches to play.

Scorers

Stormers – Try: Bryan Habana. Conversion: Peter Grant. Penalties: Grant (4).

Bulls – Try: Pierre Spies. Penalties: Morne Steyn (3).