Ken Borland

Former South Africa and Italy coach Nick Mallett believes the Springboks will approach their three-test series against England next month with a conservative game plan, more out of necessity than anything else.

The Springboks have a new coach in Heyneke Meyer and the first test against England comes just seven days after two intense SuperRugby derbies between the top-of-the-conference Stormers and Bulls and the challengers, the Sharks, against the Lions.

“I pity Heyneke because it’s going to be very hard trying to prepare a team for a test one week after those derbies, while England will have two weeks’ preparation,” Mallett told reporters in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

“Heyneke was my assistant with the Springboks before and he will understand that if he loses a single test, then he will be crapped out. He has to win all three tests in order to buy himself some time to develop his philosophy,” Mallett, who was South Africa’s head coach between 1997 and 2000, said.

“So I believe Heyneke’s mantra will be execution above innovation and it will be a very conservative team and game plan – he’ll be happy to win 25-18 with a handful of penalties, a drop goal and a breakaway try.”

Mallett, who was close to being appointed as England coach himself following the end of his contract with Italy, warned, however, that the visitors should not be underestimated.

“I would not be surprised if England sneak a game. They’re a very strong team, they’re bringing an air of confidence out of the Six Nations, as the tourmament developed, so did they. They’re scoring tries and they’re really well coached – Stuart Lancaster needed to bring pride back to the country and the jersey and he did that by picking the youngsters.

“It seemed definite that I would get the England job, but after the way Stuart Lancaster performed in the Six Nations, it was very difficult to drop him. It was very clear that they needed to turn over a new leaf and he’s given England the ability to counter-attack and they can hurt the Springboks,” Mallett said.

The Italy coach up until the end of last year’s World Cup pinpointed England’s halfbacks, loose forwards, front row and South African-born centre Brad Barritt as being stellar players.

“Owen Farrell at 10 is an outstanding talent, he’s a bit like Henry Honiball [Mallett’s flyhalf during the Springboks’ record 17 successive wins between 1997 and 1998] – his defence is great and his tactical kicking is good.

“Their front row of Alex Corbisiero, Dylan Hartley and Dan Cole has really come through and I think they’ll give the Springboks a real going-over.

“And England have great scrumhalves in Danny Care and Ben Youngs, they can both kick and they’re very quick and they like taking on the defence.

“But Barritt is the key player in the backline, he is tenacious, solid, he can take the ball up and he’s a good communicator and tackler. He believes he has the ability to play at that level, despite being ignored in the previous set-up.

“And the loosies, with Chris Robshaw in front, will be in the Springboks’ faces as well. The big question for England is can they match the Springboks in the physical exchanges?” Mallett said, adding that he felt there were several question marks in the selection of the South African pack.

The first test between South Africa and England will be played in Durban on June 9, followed by tests in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth.

England have previously played 10 tests in South Africa, winning three and losing seven. Their last game in the republic was in 2007, when they lost 55-22 in Pretoria.

Former South Africa captain Victor Matfield believes Fourie du Preez would be “a great choice” to lead the Springboks in next month’s three-test series against England.

New national coach Heyneke Meyer seriously considered bringing lock Matfield himself out of retirement to lead the Springboks, but an International Rugby Board ruling that retired players cannot play test rugby within six months of making their comeback scuppered that idea.

Scrumhalf Du Preez, who is currently playing his rugby in Japan for Suntory Goliath, has been widely named in South African media as the next Springbok captain, although it is believed contractual obligations to his club could rule him out of the first test against England.

“Fourie would be a great choice as captain, I think he would do very well. It’s important that the captain knows exactly how Heyneke wants to play – he will be his voice on the field. Plus he’s a fantastic player and everyone has huge respect for him,” Matfield told Reuters on Wednesday.

Du Preez, who boasts one of the most accurate tactical kicking boots in world rugby, was an integral part of the Blue Bulls teams that won four Currie Cups and a SuperRugby title under Meyer’s coaching between 2000 and 2007 and would fit seamlessly into the structure-based game plan the new Springbok coach is known to favour.

“In terms of tactics, there’s nobody better than Fourie and he is a guy who Heyneke will trust. The kicking game is still very important in international rugby, but Fourie also gives flow to the game. Everyone talks about his kicking, but people forget that he is also brilliant with the way he puts other players into space. Guys like Francois Hougaard [Springbok scrumhalf in waiting] and Morne Steyn [flyhalf] can still learn a lot from him,” Matfield said.

Du Preez was acknowledged as the architect of South Africa’s march to the 2007 World Cup crown, adding pace from the base of the scrums and rucks and brilliant reading of the game to his superb kicking skills, especially when the Springboks whitewashed England 36-0 in the pool stages.

There has been speculation that the 30-year-old Du Preez would lack the sharpness required for international rugby after spending the last season playing in the less intense Japanese league, but Matfield said it would be a fresh “general” that would take the field for the Springboks.

“I haven’t seen him play over there, but we’ve done a bit of training together. Talking to him, he’s very confident, he’s been playing very well and he said it’s the best he’s felt for a long time, he doesn’t have any niggling injuries. I definitely think he’ll be able to make the step up to test rugby,” Matfield said.

Of his own potential comeback, Matfield said: “The hope of playing again was exciting and it was a serious possibility. But it’s never 100% possible, we tried to get things in place but it just wasn’t allowed.”

The Springbok squad to play England in the three-test series will be announced in Pretoria on Saturday.

The International Rugby Board’s anti-doping regulations have put paid to the potential comeback of former Springbok captain Victor Matfield, the South African Rugby Union (Saru) admitted on Thursday.
New Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer was considering Matfield, a veteran of 110 tests and the driving force behind their powerful lineout, for the three-test series against England next month, despite the 35-year-old announcing his retirement after last year’s World Cup.
With the series happening in the middle of the SuperRugby season, Meyer has little chance to work with his team, which will feature several new faces following the retirement of long-time captain John Smit, injuries to flanks Schalk Burger and Juan Smith, and the migration of stalwarts such as scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, centre Jaque Fourie, utility forward Danie Rossouw and prop Gurthro Steenkamp to overseas clubs.
Meyer is also facing a dilemma over who to appoint as captain because the frontrunner, Burger, has been ruled out of the England series due to a knee injury. The former Bulls coach previously hinted that Matfield could return to steer the team through the transitional period.
But an IRB rule stating that a player who has announced his retirement may not play international rugby for six months after his comeback has ruled out Matfield’s return.
The regulation is used by the IRB to prevent players who have used banned substances from suddenly retiring and then returning to the game once the drug is out of their system.
“We have discussed the option, but the International Rugby Board’s regulations counted against us,” Saru chief executive Jurie Roux told Reuters on Thursday.
“We would be keen to use Victor’s outstanding knowledge and have not ruled out the option of using it in some other way in the future.”
Matfield is acknowledged as the foremost student of lineout play in the game and is currently employed as an analyst by broadcasters SuperSport.
“I did want to play an experienced side, but a lot of players are not available,” Meyer said on a BBC radio interview this week. “There’s a big concern about the lack of time we have to train together. That’s why it’s difficult to pick a side because there will be injuries after those derbies. It’s not an ideal situation but you can’t make excuses,” he said.

South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer said in Pretoria on Thursday that he understood star centre Jaque Fourie’s reasons for making himself unavailable for the Springboks this year.

The 29-year-old Fourie, who has been capped 69 times for South Africa since 2003, announced on Wednesday that he was unavailable for the Springboks while he completes the second year of his contract with Japanese club Kobelco Steelers.

“I respect Jaque’s thoughts in not making himself available but it’s a pity because he’s close to being the best outside centre in the world and he was definitely an integral part of my plans. But it’s very important that the players I choose are focused on the South African cause and want to play for the Springboks. If there’s pressure from their overseas clubs, then I understand,” Meyer told reporters in Pretoria on Thursday.

The new Springbok coach added, however, that the door was not closed to Fourie to make a return to the Springboks ahead of the 2015 World Cup.

“I’d like to speak again with Jaque in two years time, because we’ll be going into our World Cup plans and I hope he can still be there then.”

Meyer, who had just completed the first of three planning camps with potential Springbok players, drawn from the Cheetahs and the Lions, said however that there was plenty of talent at his disposal to replace senior players who were not available this year.

“The absence of players like Jaque is great for the youngsters and even the more experienced guys – I’ve told the players that even if they’re 29 and haven’t yet played for the Springboks, that they still have a chance of being chosen. There were one or two players at this camp that I haven’t worked with before and I can see that they are great players. There’s enough depth in South African rugby,” Meyer said.

“I’ve had one-on-ones with every player and they know where they stand and I now understand their roles in their franchises and why they do certain things. I have much more insight into them, which is great, and they know exactly what I want.”

Former Blue Bulls and Leicester coach Meyer said he had concerns over the number of injuries to experienced Springboks who were potential successors to the retired John Smit as captain.

“There’ve been a lot of injuries – guys like Schalk Burger, Juan Smith and Jean de Villiers are all out of action – while there’s been speculation about Victor Matfield playing again and Fourie du Preez isn’t back yet from Japan. I want to give every player the same opportunity to captain South Africa and I’m not going to rush and make a wrong decision. So I’ll announce the captain the week before the first England test and he’ll be captain only for those three tests,” Meyer said.

Senior Springboks like scrumhalf Du Preez, lock Bakkies Botha and utility forward Danie Rossouw have all signed with overseas clubs and Meyer said he was in negotiations with them, their clubs and agents about their availability.

Meyer on Thursday announced a list of 45 players from the Bulls and Sharks, who both have SuperRugby byes next week, to attend the second planning camp, in Pretoria from Sunday to next Thursday.

Planning camp squad – Forwards: Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis, Craig Burden, Jannie du Plessis, Dale Chadwick, Steven Sykes, Jan-André Marais, Marcell Coetzee, Keegan Daniel, Jean Deysel, Willem Alberts, Ryan Kankowski, Lubabalo Mtembu (all Sharks), Dean Greyling, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Werner Kruger, Frik Kirsten, Flip van der Merwe, Juandre Kruger, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Deon Stegmann, CJ Stander, Jacques Potgieter, Dewald Potgieter, Pierre Spies, Arno Botha (all Bulls). Backs: Charl McLeod, Pat Lambie, Odwa Ndungane, Sibusiso Sithole, Tim Whitehead, JP Pietersen, Lwazi Mvovo, Louis Ludik, Riaan Viljoen (all Sharks), Francois Hougaard, Jano Vermaak, Morné Steyn, Bjorn Basson, Wynand Olivier, Francois Venter, Johann Sadie, JJ Engelbrecht, Akona Ndungane, Zane Kirchner (all Bulls).