Boks need an emphatic win
Heyneke Meyer and the Boks will know that nothing other than an emphatic win against Japan will do for their rugby-mad nation.
|||Eastbourne: You have to forgive the Springboks this week for talking up Japan as formidable first-round opponents, but the bottom line is that nothing less than an emphatic opening statement will do for Heyneke Meyer’s Boks at the Brighton Community Centre tomorrow evening.
The Boks have to hit the ground running and immediately establish momentum that will escalate through their other three Pool B matches and into the knockouts.
It’s true Japan have improved beyond all recognition over the last decade or so – in 1995, the All Blacks put 145 points past them, but two years ago this was cut down to 54 in a fixture between the countries in Tokyo. But let’s not kid ourselves, the South African players that go and play for Japanese clubs usually come back out of shape compared to their Super Rugby colleagues after a working holiday.
“The gulf between the minnows and big fish has closed substantially because of the influence of foreign coaches and players in their local systems, and they willfight hard for much of the game,” Meyer said.
It sounds like the coach is talking about the pattern of matches between the Boks and the All Blacks in recent seasons, and for four years he has lamented his team’s inability to go toe-to-toe with the Kiwis for 80 minutes. That is why the Boks have been running themselves ragged in Durban over the last six weeks or so.
Meyer says there are two things the Boks have sorted out between the Rugby Championship and now, or so he hopes. Firstly, he believes the Boks are the fittest they’ve ever been and, secondly, he reckons that by the playoffs he will have a bench that will be the envy of the World Cup.
“I can’t emphasise enough how important the bench is going to be in this World cup,” he said. “The gap between the top teams is so small and games are won in the last 10 minutes. We have learned that the hard way. We emptied our bench against the Wallabies in Brisbane, but didn’t have the firepower or experience coming on and it cost us severely. The same happened at Ellis Park against the All Blacks.
“Your bench has to have a mixture of experience that will calm things down and players that can make a big impact.
For tomorrow’s game, Meyer has a complete halfback pair ready to put the Japanese away late on in Fourie du Preez and Handré Pollard; Pieter-Steph du Toit is a world-class bundle of enthusiasm, not to mention skill; Siya Kolisi yesterday described himself as a “coiled-up spring”; and then there is the irrepressible Coenie Oosthuizen.
Meyer said that a “one-point” victory would suffice as long as his team played clinically, but privately that most certainly will not do for Meyer, the players or the Bok fans.
South Africa and Japan have never played each other before. The Brave Blossoms are ranked No 13 in the world; the match is on neutral territory and while Meyer is spot on in wanting his team to play with ruthless competence, a good 50-point hiding will best announce that the Boks mean business.
Teams
Springboks: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Lwazi Mvovo, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jean de Villiers (capt), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Beast Mtawarira. Bench: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Fourie du Preez, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 JP Pietersen.
Japan: 15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Akihito Yamada, 13 Male Sau, 12 Craig Wing, 11 Kotaro Matsushima, 10 Kosei Ono, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka; 8 Hendrik Tui, 7 Michael Broadhurst, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Hitoshi Ono, 4 Luke Thompson, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Masataka Mikami. Bench: 16 Takeshi Kazu, 17 Keita Inagaki, 18 Hiroshi Yamashita, 19 Shinya Makabe, 20 Amanaki Mafi, 21 Atsushi Hiwasa, 22 Harumichi Tatekawa, 23 Karne Hesketh. Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France) - Cape Times