Wallabies players would be happy to kick the Springboks out of the Tri-Nations and instead play an extra Test against the All Blacks following South Africa’s decision to send an under-strength team on tour to Australia and New Zealand.
Coach John Connolly said on Tuesday the Wallabies would be delighted if the Tri-Nations Test at Sydney’s Telstra Stadium on Saturday next week was replaced with a third Bledisloe Cup contest, reports the Australian newspaper in Sydney.
Springbok coach Jake White will leave key players such as Victor Matfield, Percy Montgomery, Schalk Burger, Os du Randt, Bakkies Botha, BJ Botha, Jaque Fourie and Jean de Villiers at home. A number of big-name players, including captain John Smit, Pierre Spies, Juan Smith, Ricky Januarie, Bryan Habana and Fourie du Preez, are nursing injuries.
The touring squad, to be led by Bob Skinstad, will be made up of fringe players.
”Save for Victor Matfield, all the others can fairly easily be replaced,” said Connolly. ”But what this decision of South Africa does is leave us on a hiding to nothing. It’s a no-win Test for us now if we play their second-stringers.”
The Wallabies would not be nearly as motivated as they were against the full-strength Boks at Newlands on June 16 when they almost pulled off a stunning upset. If they were to win in Sydney, it would be a hollow triumph, while a lacklustre loss to a Boks second XV would be disastrous so close to the World Cup.
Scrapping Tests
Connolly enthusiastically embraced the suggestion that everyone would gain if Australia and New Zealand both scrapped their remaining Tests against South Africa and instead played each other a third time, in addition to their scheduled home-and-away Bledisloe matches in Melbourne on Saturday and Auckland on July 21.
”The players would love that,” Connolly said. ”There is absolutely no doubt about that. Financially it would be a win as well. Play it at Telstra Stadium, draw a capacity crowd and split the revenue with New Zealand.”
And there is every chance the All Blacks would support the idea, especially since they and coach Graham Henry were outraged by some of the Springboks’ foul tactics in the Test in Durban on Saturday.
Former Wallaby prop Dan Crowley has urged the International Rugby Board to abolish Test rugby in World Cup years if countries continue to field under-strength sides in soccer-style friendlies.
”I can understand it from a coach’s perspective, but I disagree with it,” Crowley said, ”in the same way I disagreed with France, Wales and New Zealand doing it. Everything is just World Cup focused. If that’s the way they want to treat it, get rid of Tests in a World Cup year. It’s not fair to the public. It’s just not right. You can’t go and belittle everything else to win the World Cup.”
Countries routinely send second-string squads on end-of-season tours, but this is the first time a nation will field a B team in a major tournament, although New Zealand rested 22 All Blacks in the first half of this year’s Super 14 series.
Rebound
Former Wallabies captain John Eales believes South Africa’s decision to rest players could rebound on the Springboks at the World Cup.
”I don’t think it will do them any favours at the World Cup,” Eales said. ”At this point you would be better off playing your best team and letting the players get used to each other. If I were Jake White, I wouldn’t be doing it.”
There has been speculation about South Africa’s future in the Super 14 and Tri-Nations, and this decision will certainly test the fabric of the Sanzar partnership.
Australian Rugby Union chairperson and acting chief executive Peter McGrath, who is seeking an emergency Sanzar meeting to overturn South Africa’s decision, accused the Springboks of reneging on an agreement to send their best side.
”Obviously, the issue devalues Test rugby and the importance of the Sanzar relationship,” McGrath said. ”We need to have confidence in our partners like you do in any commercial enterprise.”
However, White had no qualms about his decision. ”I’ve made it quite clear, there’s a World Cup coming up, the All Blacks pulled 22 guys from the Super 14, which I wasn’t able to do because our sides didn’t feel it was necessary.
”New Zealand, Ireland, England and France have done it, so we’ve got to make sure we do whatever’s best to give ourselves a chance to win the World Cup.”
SA Rugby on Tuesday said that its decision to send an under-strength squad stands firm. ”We issued a statement on Monday wherein we stated our position and we stand by that,” said SA Rugby MD Jonathan Stones. ”We are in discussion with our partners and a teleconference is scheduled for sometime tomorrow [Wednesday] morning, whereafter we might be in a position to comment further.”
The Springboks leave on Wednesday for Sydney.
Ticket sales for the Wallabies-Springboks Test have been good so far and a crowd of 55 000 to 60 000 is expected. But any hopes of a sell-out at the 80 000-seat venue have disappeared with the revelation the Springboks are second-stringers. — Sapa