Rudolf Straeuli’s beleaguered Springboks will be hoping for an emphatic display in their final match before departing for the Rugby World Cup in Australia when they take on the Falcons at the Pam Brink Stadium in Springs on Tuesday evening.
The Springboks 2003 campaign has, so far, only flattered to deceive and a convincing win over the Falcons would be a massive boost ahead of the Rugby World Cup and in particular the crunch encounter against England in Perth on October 18.
Admittedly, the Falcons, who languish in the bottom half of the Absa Currie Cup first division, are unlikely to stretch the Boks, and the match is more an exercise to boost morale just days before the Boks depart for Australia.
And Straeuli has rung the changes from the team that defeated the Cheetahs last week, bringing in 11 new faces to the starting XV.
This, Straeuli says, is to ensure that all of the squad members get ample game time.
”It is important that all 30 players are on par when we play at the Rugby World Cup. Any player should be able to fit into the structure as and when required, hence the importance of giving each guy a fair amount of time on the pitch,” the Bok coach said.
Western Province centre Jean de Villiers is expected to get a chance off the substitutes bench, meaning that each of Straeuli’s 30 players — apart from the suspended Bakkies Botha — will have had a run in the two warm-up matches.
De Villiers was only included in the squad on Thursday after Gcobani Bobo injured his knee and, although De Villiers is also comfortable on the wing, he is likely to get a run in his favoured position at centre.
He played for Western Province in the energy-sapping 26-all draw against the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday, so is unlikely to get an extended run against the Falcons.
Exciting young Lions fullback Jacque Fourie will partner De Wet Barry in the midfield and a strong performance from the strapping Fourie could take him from the fringes and into the main frame for the global showpiece event.
South African fans will get the first glimpse of what is possibly the Boks halfback pairing of the future — the prodigiously talented flyhalf Derick Hougaard and nuggety scrumhalf Neil de Kock.
The talented Hougaard is a newcomer to the international scene, but it seems as if his educated boot may play a big role in the Boks’ attempt to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy. He could be a trump card against a team such as England, who have the versatile Jonny Wilkinson in their camp.
Straeuli has moved Joe van Niekerk, who wore the number seven Bok jersey in the past few Test matches, to number eight — a position many pundits feel is his best.
An in-form Van Niekerk is crucial to the Boks’ chances in Australia, while hooker John Smit also gets his chance to impress following an injury-riddled season. Smit will captain the side in the absence of Corne Krige, who is resting.
Victor Matfield and Selborne Boome will lock the scrum for the second match in a row only because Botha cannot be considered.
”We have been focusing on four key elements, namely possession,structure, defence and momentum, and will be looking to build on these in the second game,” Straeuli said.
”One area that has been given a lot of attention is our defence. We were disappointed to let the Cheetahs in for four tries and have placed much emphasis on tightening things up in this area.”
The bottom line though is that Straeuli will be hoping that he can silence his critics to some degree while hoping that his squad pick up no more debilitating injuries at this late stage. — Sapa
The teams:
SPRINGBOKS: Ricardo Loubscher, Stefan Terblanche, Jaque Fourie, De Wet Barry, Breyton Paulse, Derick Hougaard, Neil de Kock, Joe van Niekerk, Danie Rossouw, Hendro Scholtz, Victor Matfield, Selborne Boome, Faan Rautenbach, John Smit (c), Lawrence Sephaka. Reserves: To be announced.
FALCONS: Ruan Coetzee, Jacques Booysen, Andrè Kies, Jan Cloete, Turtius Douw, Francois Visser, Joggie Viljoen, Jean Pieters, Naas Rossouw, Gustav Japhta, Kobus Grobelaar, Nico Luus, Pierre du Toit, Tom Drewitt, Jaco Venter. Reserves: Hannes Franklin, Barrabas Koen, Jacques Coetzee, Jacques Nieuwenhuis, Neil Papier, MJ Smith, Riaan Heter.
Kick-off: 6pm (live on Supersport One from 5.30pm)