OWN CORRESPONDENT, Paris | Wednesday 6.30pm.
SPRINGBOK coach Nick Mallett said he was very disappointed by a three-week World Cup ban on Brendan Venter for stamping but he was confident an appeal would succeed.
Mallett said that regardless of the result of the appeal, which will be heard on Thursday, he was unlikely to name the centre or flyhalf Henry Honiball in the team to play England in Sunday’s quarter-final.
”I can’t wait for Brendan. I’m announcing the side on Thursday,” Mallett was quoted as saying on a rugby website.
”Henry Honiball had a good run today (Wednesday) and will maybe get on the bench. But we’re practising this week with Jannie de Beer (at flyhalf) and Pieter Mueller (at centre).
”There’s probably 90 percent chance of going into the game with those two players.” Honiball has yet to play in the tournament because of injury.
World Cup organisers said Venter’s appeal would be heard on Thursday in Cardiff, probably in the afternoon.
In a column on another website, Mallett said Venter’s ban for stamping ”poses a lot of questions and doubts.”
”I am terribly disappointed by the ban on Brendan Venter. I think it is a harsh ban given that the panel found that Brendan had not stamped intentionally but he was found guilty of reckless use of the boot and given the recommended IRB ban for such.
”Obviously I am still hoping and confident that the appeal will be successful.”
Honiball and Venter are the attacking play-makers for the world champions and they will be sorely missed against England in Paris on Sunday.
”I think we’ve got to prepare ourselves that we’re going in with Jannie and Pieter, and hopefully have Henry there as a back-up,” Mallett was quoted as saying. ”There might be an opportunity to get him on during the game.”
”Henry went very quietly through Tuesday’s practice and came through fine. But it’s disruptive to the team to suddenly put a guy there who hasn’t played for a while, however good he is.
”Jannie is a very different player from Henry. You have to play (a) style that will suit the flyhalf. You can’t make Jannie a flatball player.
”We’ve got to dominate among the forwards and he’s got to try and turn the English pack around.”
In his column Mallett blamed his side’s poor form against Uruguay and Spain in their group matches on a lack of World Cup atmosphere and vowed his team would now start to focus hard.
”Basically we had one really intense week in the build-up to the Scottish game, after which we produced a reasonable performance, and then things went flat for two weeks,” he said.
”We knew we would win those games which made them virtual practice matches. I know that we did not play well but playing in front of crowds of a couple of thousand in those huge stadia was not very encouraging.
”So, with the intensity turned down there were a couple of dreadful performances, but now the focus is back.
”Unfortunately we are not like New Zealand who can be absolutely ruthless against weaker opposition.” — Reuters