/ 14 June 2000

MALLETT STICKS WITH WINNING COMBINATION

THE Springbok line-up which beat Canada 51-18 last week has been kept intact by coach Nick Mallett for Saturday’s first of two Tests against England in Pretoria. The only changes in the side are on the bench, with Ollie le Roux replacing Willie Meyer and Albert van den Berg replacing inside-centre Japie Mulder. Mallett said that Le Roux and Ven den Bergh were left out of the team for the Canada clash because they were not considered to be fully fit.

Mallett said his side would need to improve in several areas against the Six Nations champions. “We certainly need to improve in our discipline. We can’t give away as many penalties as we did against Canada against a side like England. We’re worried about England and we’re simply focused on performing well.”

South Africa:

Percy Montgomery, Breyton Paulse, Robbie Fleck, De Wet Barry, Pieter Rossouw, Braam van Straaten, Joost van der Westhuizen, Andre Vos (capt), Andre Venter, Johan Erasmus, Krynauw Otto, Selborne Boome, Cobus Visagie, Charl Marais, Rob Kempson.

Substitutes: John Smit, Ollie le Roux, Albert van den Berg, Corne Krige, Dan van Zyl, Chester Williams, Thinus Delport.