Ken Borland

Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen

Your decision to sign with Racing Metro must have been a tough one. What were the key factors that made up your mind?

A: Big decisions such as this one are never easy, but I decided to take this opportunity as I would love to experience a different culture, on the field and away from it, work on certain aspects of my game, and, as the World Cup will be played in the Northern Hemisphere, give myself the opportunity to get used to the playing conditions over there while pushing for a place in the squad.

There are a lot of South Africans playing in France and it is obviously a strong league. Do you believe playing in those conditions will improve your game and are there any particular areas you’re looking to improve in?

A: Yes, I do think so. One area which I can still improve in is my tactical kicking and as it’s vital to be able to kick well in those conditions, I think I will definitely benefit from moving to France.

Were any players influential in your move?

A: I chatted to Bernard le Roux and Francois van der Merwe, Flip’s brother, about playing over there and both of them recommended it highly.

You were in France last year with the Springboks, what were the main attractions for you?

A: Paris is obviously a magnificent city and I’m looking forward to getting to know it much better, but the main thing is the rugby and I’m going to work very hard to make my move to Racing a success.

You were something of a schoolboy prodigy. Tell us about your early days and who was the most influential person in your boyhood career?

A: My earliest memories involve rugby so I started playing when I was still very young. Two people have made a massive difference in my rugby career and also my life. One is my dad, who always supports me and gave me the best possible chances in life. And the other is Mr Basson from Burgersdorp Primary School. He made the very important decision to move me from flank to flyhalf and started moulding me into what I am today. And then it was very enjoyable being at Grey College, where you can just live for rugby and wearing their jersey was always a highlight for me.

Do you have any role-models as a flyhalf?

A: I think Jonny Wilkinson was the most complete flyhalf. But comparing yourself to other flyhalves, which happens constantly in South Africa, creates pressures that I don’t need. I’m not going to change my natural game because that’s what got me picked and Heyneke’s always saying that too. I have to keep working hard and trust myself.

You’re just 21 years old and already playing international rugby, how special does that feel?

A: Just like all players, it was my ultimate goal to represent my country at the top level one day. But I’m just trying to stay humble and be grateful for everything I do. I was the youngster coming into the Springbok squad and I was all ears, learning as much as I could.

Apart from rugby, what hobbies do you have?

A: I really enjoy Golf and horse-riding and I also go hunting quite a bit. While I was injured last year, I had to keep myself busy and I spent a lot of time at a farm in Bloemfontein riding and grooming horses.

After making your debut in 2012, you missed most of 2013 because of injury, how frustrating was that?

A: It was disappointing not to play any Test rugby last year, but I was privileged to go on the tour to Europe in November and that was a great experience, I really learned a thing or two.

Jacques Kallis in full ODI flow - what SA coach Russell Domingo will want to see

Going into the tournament with confidence is one of the laws of success in the World Cup, according to South Africa coach Russell Domingo, and he has already mapped out his plans for a summer that could be the making of his tenure in charge of the Proteas.

“Confidence going into the World Cup is always vital. Playing well throughout the year leading up to the tournament is probably more important than anything else.

“If you’re losing a lot beforehand, then you have to make changes in personnel or strategy just before the tournament, which is never ideal. The players need to feel comfortable in the strategy you’re going to use,” Domingo said after his presentation to the country’s leading coaches at the CSA Level IV Coaching Conference at the High Performance Centre yesterday.

One of the strategies which Domingo believes will be highly applicable in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand from next February is the use of bouncers, while he defended the Proteas’ scarce use of yorkers.

“How many bouncers you use depends on the opposition and the pitches, but it’s a very useful weapon. Someone like Kumar Sangakkara ducks just about every bouncer so those are dot-balls.

“The stats show that a wide yorker is very hittable if you just miss your length. Very few people bowl six yorkers an over at the death, even Lasith Malinga, who has the best yorker of anyone, doesn’t bowl it  every time.

“Predictability is very dangerous at the end of the innings, you can’t just bowl yorkers, you have to mix up your deliveries. The short ball is very important in this regard because it causes doubt and fear in the minds of batsmen, and cause them to get into strange positions sometimes as well,” Domingo said.

South Africa coach Russell Domingo

Although Jacques Kallis has halved his cricketing commitments, Domingo said the great all-rounder was still an integral part of their plans for the World Cup. There is no doubt that, used in the top-order to set up the innings, Kallis can be a batting kingpin for South Africa, while he is also still good for a few overs as well.

But in order for the team’s planning to be complete by the time they begin their World Cup challenge against Zimbabwe in Hamilton on February 15, Kallis is going to have to play most of South Africa’s ODIs in the next nine months.

“We have 24 ODIs before the World Cup, but to ask Jacques to play in all of those is unrealistic. But he’ll definitely be needed to play in the vast majority of those because we have to develop a strategy for playing with Jacques Kallis. We have to incorporate him back into the team and it effects the balance – we could play seven batsmen instead of six batsmen and an all-rounder. It’s a different dynamic because we’ve developed a strategy for playing without Jacques Kallis in recent times,” Domingo said.

AB de Villiers was just an eight-year-old child when the World Cup was last held in Australasia in 1992, the wonder of South Africa’s return to the international fold turning to dismay when poor rain rules ended their dream run at the semi-final stage and started a seeming curse for the team in that tournament that they have yet to shake off.

De Villiers will almost certainly be the captain of South Africa’s World Cup squad this time around, and he is also the favourite to inherit Graeme Smith’s Test captaincy.

“The captaincy is not cut-and-dried and there are some really good options. It would be a tough ask for AB to be captain, keep wicket and be a key batsman, and the selectors will take that into cognisance. I have input with the selectors and then their recommendation goes to the board, who make the final decision,” Domingo said while trying to throw journalists off the scent.

But he possibly let slip his feelings on the matter when he said: “It’s going to be a big challenge for the new leader to step up and fill the massive void that Graeme has left. But the maturity of the Test side will enable him to do it and senior guys like Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla know that a new leader is coming in and will bring different ideas to the team.”

South Africa have been offenders before when it comes to going into World Cups without covering all their bases, but with the domestic competitions arranged to help their planning and a limited-overs tour to New Zealand and Australia in October/November, they should not want for preparation.

“I’ll be looking for consistency in selection and strategies, and hopefully we’ll have settled on our combination and the style we want to play. The last 10 ODIs before the World Cup, I’ll look to play the best XI as much as possible.

“We have a pretty good idea of the 15 we want, but it would be naïve to think all 15 of those will make the World Cup because of injuries, loss of form or a domestic player shooting the lights out and putting his name in the hat,” Domingo said.

South Africa's women's hockey World Cup squad

Investec South Africa women’s hockey coach Giles Bonnet said on Tuesday that he had chosen the World Cup squad based on the need for continuity and pace.

And so the same 18-strong squad that bowed out in the semi-finals of the Champions Challenge – their only defeat of the tournament – last week will do duty at the World Cup in Holland from May 31 to June 15.

“We’re staying with continuity, although we’ve brought players in through the years, introducing eight U21 players since 2010. We’ve been exposing players for the last four years, bringing in future stars all the time, and we’ve played 150 games since the last World Cup, which was only possible because of the support and sponsorship of Investec.

“So the squad includes one triple Olympian [captain Marsha Cox (nee Marescia)], five double Olympians [goalkeeper Sanani Mangisa, Shelley Russell, Kathleen Taylor, Tarryn Bright, Lenise Marais] and seven who went to the last Olympics,” Bonnet said at the announcement of the squad at the sponsor’s headquarters in Sandton on Tuesday.

The squad includes 13 players with more than a hundred caps, while only goalkeeper Anelle van Deventer (10) has less than 50 appearances for South Africa.

Pietie Coetzee, arguably South Africa’s greatest women’s hockey player, is the glaring omission from the squad, but Bonnet said she had made herself unavailable, along with the injured Jade Mayne, because she did not feel physically up to the tournament.

“Pietie doesn’t feel in shape to play in the World Cup, which basically involves running 10km every game and that has a major impact on the body. Hockey these days is about speed and endurance. We have very quick players in this squad,” Bonnet said.

Endurance is epitomised by captain Cox, for whom international hockey must be like a drug as she looks to add to her 332 caps in Holland.

“The Champions Challenge was successful, getting bronze and laying a good platform for the World Cup. We were extremely disappointed after losing in a semi-final to Ireland that we dominated, but stats don’t win you games.

“But sometimes you need to fail before you succeed and we’ve gained confidence from all the chances we created in that tournament [a tournament-leading 60 in six games]. Realistically we’re aiming to finish in the top eight in the World Cup and, with the style of hockey we’re currently playing and all the experience in the squad, that’s in reach,” Cox said.

Waiting for South Africa, however, are three of the tournament favourites in their first three games – Argentina, Germany and England – and Bonnet is hoping to get a draw from one of those powerhouses before taking full points off China and the USA.

“It will be difficult. You want to go into a World Cup with confidence and build your way into the tournament, but hopefully we can make that middle pool,” the vastly experienced Bonnet said.

Mangisa said she was confident the team would make a good start to the tournament, whatever the opposition.

“We know all the games will be tough because, along with the Olympics, this is the pinnacle of hockey. We’ve learnt from the London Olympics and we won’t repeat that bad start. We have to start well and we’ve grown a lot in the last two years. With all these caps, we can’t have a repeat … we’ll think ‘hang on there, we’ve been here before’ and tighten up. Unlike Liverpool last night,” Mangisa said.

Squad (caps in brackets): Sanani Mangisa (92), Ilse Davids (122), Marsha Cox (332), Shelley Russell (212), Dirkie Chamberlain (168), Lisa Deetleefs (187), Nicolene Terblanche (145), Kathleen Taylor (214), Tarryn Bright (263), Sulette Damons (149), Lenise Marais (228), Bernie Coston (94), Anelle van Deventer (10), Marcelle Manson (nee Keet, 133), Kelly Madsen (113), Celia Evans (89), Lillian du Plessis (58), Quanita Bobbs (56).

New Zealand may have just added the inaugural Rugby Championship title to their World Cup crown, but they still feel they have a point to prove when they take on South Africa in Soweto on Saturday.

The Springboks have just recorded two victories in this year’s southern hemisphere competition, at home over Argentina in the first round of matches and last weekend against Australia in Pretoria.

But the All Blacks did not meet the 2007 champions during their drive to the World Cup title last year and, even though they beat South Africa 21-11 three weeks ago in Dunedin, many critics suggested the Springboks had actually dominated the match and would have won were it not for errant goalkicking that saw them miss out on 20 potential points.

“Our big goal is to be better than we were 12 months ago and if we don’t get things right tomorrow, then we’ll undo a lot of the good work we’ve done. Even though we’ve won the Rugby Championship, there’s still this big challenge ahead of playing the Springboks at home. It will be a huge test of where we are as a team,” All Blacks captain Richie McCaw told reporters in Johannesburg on Friday.

Eighthman Kieran Read was even more demanding in his analysis of what was riding on the game.

“It would really cement our number one status to win away from home against one of the top sides. If we don’t win, then a lot of what we’ve achieved goes out the window. To be number one, you can’t just win at home and it’s really important to win this weekend, there’s no bigger challenge than playing the Springboks at home,” Read said.

Soccer City, the venue for Saturday’s match, has a capacity of 94 700 and has hosted just one Test before, between the same two sides in 2010.

One of the great matches in the 91-year rivalry between the two rugby powerhouses was won by a last-minute try by New Zealand fullback Israel Dagg, spoiling Springbok captain John Smit’s 100th Test.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said the daunting surroundings will only increase the determination of his side, who have won their last 15 matches, just three off the world record set by Lithuania in 2010.

“Sure, 90 000 people will make a lot of noise, but if you do things right on the field then you quieten them down and it becomes your place. The players get excited about playing at venues like that, it’s a magnificent stadium,” Hansen said.

Springbok captain Jean de Villiers said his team were desperate not to lose the gains of last weekend, when they hammered Australia 31-8, ending a record five-match losing streak against the Wallabies and their biggest win over them since the 53-8 hiding at Ellis Park in 2008.

“We played very well last weekend, but the pressure is still on us to perform. Australia had injury upon injury during that game, which definitely had an impact, so we’re not suddenly thinking we’re a great team. We’re happy with the improvement shown, but we’re very aware that we need to step up to another level this weekend,” De Villiers said.

“If we put on a bad show, then we’re back where we started. We need to keep on evolving and, in this country, that’s usually judged by the result. We gained some momentum last weekend, and we want to build some more to take with us on the end-of-year tour.”

Twenty-year-old Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen has been identified as an obvious key figure and McCaw said the All Blacks would concentrate on disrupting the quality of his possession.

“Goosen certainly played well last week, he got good ball and used it well so guys like Bryan Habana could benefit. He certainly backs himself and we’ve seen his ability with the Cheetahs in SuperRugby, so we’ll have to keep an eye on him and limit the amount of good ball he gets,” McCaw said.

The experienced Ruan Pienaar will also be a key figure for the Springboks at scrumhalf, tasked with protecting Goosen as South Africa go in search of a ninth victory over New Zealand in 13 tests in the greater Johannesburg region.

“There’s a lot hanging on this Test, it’s important for us and a massive game for New Zealand, they’ve got a lot riding on it as they chase the world record for consecutive wins.

“Our forwards will need to be even better than in Dunedin because the All Blacks will come out firing. All 22 of us will have to make a massive step up and if we kick poorly, then they will punish us because they have great finishers like Dagg who can score from his own 22. We’re going to have to make lots of tackles, ensure that they are first-time tackles and not give them any momentum.

“And we need to take our opportunities, that’s what was lacking in New Zealand. You only get two or three opportunities against the All Blacks, we have to take them, be patient and play in the right areas,” Pienaar said.