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.
Damian de Allende: The new face of the Springbok backline 0
Posted on
August 13, 2014 by
Ken
Coach Heyneke Meyer believes Damian de Allende can bring a “new dimension” to Springbok backline play, but the modest centre is promising no revolution himself.
De Allende is very much the modern backline player – big, strong and quick – standing 1.89m tall, weighing 104kg and fast enough to play on the wing for the Stormers, and also skilful enough to create many tries for his team-mates with his deft offloads.
“He’s a big guy but he’s skilful as well, he has the soft touches, runs beautiful lines and gets the ball away. I think he can bring a new dimension to our backline and I feel he can be superb at 13,” Meyer said on Wednesday after announcing De Allende would make his debut against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The player himself was reticent to talk about all his skills.
“I don’t know about skills, but I know Heyneke wants a physical presence in midfield. We want to play direct rugby and earn the right to go wide,” De Allende said.
Despite playing just once before at outside centre in his senior career – for Western Province against the Blue Bulls in a Currie Cup match last year – De Allende is relatively unfazed about wearing the number 13 jersey on his Test debut.
“It does make my debut more challenging, but I’ll have Jean de Villiers on my inside and it will be very exciting. I’ve had the one game at 13 at a high level and, although number 12 is my best position, playing outside centre will be just about making the right decision at the right time. I need to identify space on the outside and try and get behind the defence,” De Allende said.
The 22-year-old probably has the Varsity Cup to thank for his rapid rise to the international stage. He only started to take rugby seriously at the age of 15 and, going to the unfashionable, in rugby terms, Milnerton High School possibly explains why he was missed by the Western Province Craven Week selectors. But his coach, Hein Kriek, pushed him to go to the provincial U19 trials and he was snapped up by the team which would win their age-group Currie Cup in 2010.
A stint at Alan Zondagh’s academy followed, from where he played for Hamiltons, before UCT snapped him up in 2012 for the Varsity Cup and he was then able to star on national TV, showing his attacking and defensive skills to great effect.
“The Varsity Cup helped a lot, it gave me some TV time, and then Allister Coetzee and Robbie Fleck moved me to inside centre,” De Allende said.
The former opening bowler for Western Province U18 is clearly not just the sort of one-dimensional battering ram South African rugby is trying to move away from. The fact that his biggest inspiration is the diminutive Gio Aplon says it all.
“I really look up to Gio, he’s not the biggest but he’s a phenomenal player and he has a massive heart,” De Allende said.
The son of Spanish descendants said the emotion of playing for the Springboks will be “a bit overwhelming” on Saturday.
“Playing for the Springboks is every rugby player’s dream, it’s one of the most unique teams in the world, more diverse than many others,” De Allende said.
His mother, father and brother will be in the stands at Loftus Versfeld to see how a Springbok who has travelled one of the more unusual routes to the Green and Gold does.
Meyer shows his enormous faith in Pollard 0
Posted on
August 13, 2014 by
Ken
The Springboks have placed enormous faith in young flyhalf Handre Pollard to start in the pivot position in their opening Rugby Championship match against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, but coach Heyneke Meyer believes the 20-year-old has already earned such trust.
Pollard retains his berth as the starting flyhalf after his impressive debut against Scotland at the end of June, relegating veteran Morne Steyn to the bench. Meyer must have been tempted to go with the experience of Steyn, especially since Damian de Allende will be making his debut in midfield, and Ruan Pienaar, Bryan Habana and Jean de Villiers are all coming off extended absences from the field of play.
But there’s no doubting the Springbok coach’s high regard for Pollard.
“Handre is only 20, but he’s very mature and he has an experienced head on his shoulders. I’ve seen him playing since he was 15 and he has always impressed me as an unbelievable prospect.
“He’s one of the few flyhalves to have both a brilliant attacking game and a tactical game. You don’t find that a lot, the name Dan Carter springs to mind, most flyhalves have one or the other,” Meyer said on Wednesday.
“It’s a tough position and a flyhalf must have leadership qualities as well because the players must trust him. They expect him to stay cool and calm and make the right decisions and they must want to give him the ball.
“Handre is also big and tall for a flyhalf and most teams now attack in the 10/12 channel, but he’s big enough to knock back guys, even big forwards. There are no grey areas in his game and I believe a lot in him.”
While the likes of Juan de Jongh and S’Bura Sithole have both surely done enough to warrant consideration at outside centre, Meyer has backed what he sees as De Allende’s potential in the number 13 jersey.
The 23-year-old is yet to play outside centre in SuperRugby, but he played there at school and had one Currie Cup outing in that position for Western Province against the Blue Bulls last year.
He certainly has the attributes to make a success of his new-found role, being big, strong and quick, while also having fine hands.
“I was really impressed with Damian in SuperRugby. I always look at players when they are playing away in tough conditions and I like his mental toughness.
“He’s a big guy but he’s skilful as well, he has the soft touches, runs beautiful lines and gets the ball away. I think he can bring another dimension to our backline and I feel he can be superb at 13,” Meyer said.
The other notable feature of the Springbok team announced on Wednesday was Lood de Jager shifting from number four to number five lock, to replace the injured Victor Matfield.
South Africa’s most-capped player has stayed with the squad to lend his considerable wisdom to De Jager, and Meyer is confident that the 21-year-old can make another step in his meteoric rise and run the lineouts.
“It wasn’t that easy to select at number five, but Lood is intelligent enough to run the lineout and, even though he’s been a typical number four, I’ve always felt that we could groom him at five.
“He’s one of the most improved players I’ve worked with and he has an unbelievable future. Eben Etzebeth can also play five, but he hasn’t played for a while, plus Lood is very good outside of the lineouts as well,” Meyer said.
Bakkies Botha will make his first Rugby Championship start since 2011 alongside De Jager, with Etzebeth as cover on the bench.
Tendai Mtawarira starts at loosehead prop, to extend the South African record with Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis as a front-row trio to 17 Tests.
Jan Serfontein, after his excellent performances in the incoming Tests, will get the chance to put in a hard-hitting 20 minutes off the bench on Saturday, while Francois Hougaard is the reserve scrumhalf to Ruan Pienaar.
In the absence of Fourie du Preez, Meyer admitted that their service has to speed up in the Rugby Championship.
“I always thought Test rugby would become more of an arm-wrestle, but more tries than ever are being scored and the game is getting quicker and quicker. So all the scrumhalves in South Africa need to play at a higher tempo if we’re going to be the best. They need to up it because we need to speed up our ball. We need ball on the front foot because we have a big flyhalf and centres that attack the line.”
Meyer said Argentina would require the Springboks’ full focus on Saturday.
“It’s always tough against Argentina because they are a contesting team, they contest for the ball in every facet of the game. The scrum is always a huge contest and they’re one of the best teams at the breakdown.
“They have a new coach [Daniel Hourcade] so they’re going to play with a lot of passion and lately they’ve been moving the ball around more, so they’ll test our defence,” Meyer said.
Springbok team: 15-Willie le Roux, 14-Cornal Hendricks, 13-Damian de Allende, 12-Jean de Villiers, 11-Bryan Habana, 10-Handre Pollard, 9-Ruan Pienaar, 8-Duane Vermeulen, 7-Willem Alberts, 6-Francois Louw, 5-Lood de Jager, 4-Bakkies Botha, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Bismarck du Plessis, 1-Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements – 16-Adriaan Strauss, 17-Trevor Nyakane, 18-Frans Malherbe, 19-Eben Etzebeth, 20-Marcell Coetzee, 21-Francois Hougaard, 22-Morne Steyn, 23-Jan Serfontein.