Fourie's not a jolly fellow
For Bok Fourie du Preez, losing to NZ in his penultimate international appearance is a bitter pill.
|||London – Springbok captain Fourie du Preez says losing to the All Blacks in a World Cup semi-final in his penultimate appearance in international rugby is a very bitter pill to swallow.
The 33-year-old Du Preez, who was also elevated to the role of captain after the injury to former captain Jean de Villiers, was left devastated at his team’s inability to beat the All Blacks again as they sunk to their seventh loss to New Zealand in the eight times they played them in the past four years.
For Du Preez, the World Cup was always going to be the final curtain call on a decorated career that has spanned over a decade and has left his name engraved amongst the finest scrumhalves to have ever played the game.
But for Du Preez it was not enough that he was instrumental in the Springboks winning the 2007 edition of the World Cup and beating the British and Irish Lions in 2009.
Du Preez so wanted to exit international rugby and end his playing career in a blaze of glory with the Webb Ellis trophy in hand and riding the crest of the wave but it was not to be.
The Springboks would have been left wondering what might have been had they played a second half identical to the first half that saw them dominate the All Blacks on the scoreboard but Du Preez remains proud of his team and himself for the effort they put in to come within two points of the defending champions.
“Very, very bitter pill to swallow but this is sort of the way life is. I’m very proud of the way the team stood up and I’m proud of myself and the way I stood up, I gave everything. I couldn’t ask more of myself and what I gave,” a dejected Du Preez said.
While the obvious turning point in the semi-final would have been Dan Carter’s second half drop-goal even though the Springboks had a one man numerical advantage, Du Preez felt that it was the small things that went wrong that eventually culminated in them conceding control of the game and again finding themselves on the losing side.
“There were many turning points. When Carter dropped and they were 14 men and after that they scored and put us on the back foot again. We came back brilliant with 12 minutes to go and two points behind we had opportunities there to take it but obviously we couldn’t. It was a game of just one decision here, one thing there, one lineout miss but it was so many things. Credit to them (All Blacks) as well under pressure to pull it through,” Du Preez added.
Amid the disappointment of not reaching the final and having to play in the meaningless third and fourth place match, Du Preez believes that the remaining young players in the team like Lood de Jager, Trevor Nyakane, Eben Etzebeth, Handre Pollard, Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel can be the spine of the Springboks winning another World Cup in four years’ time.
“Obviously very disappointed thought everyone gave everything, the margins are so small and we had several opportunities to win it. Bitterly disappointed but I am very proud of the effort the guys put in. Going forward the younger guys, the immense experience they picked up at this World Cup those guys will definitely win a World Cup and be world beaters.”
Du Preez may be a ruthless general on the field but he is a man to shy away from confrontation in the politics of the game but believes that the best for South African rugby going forward would be to retain Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.
Du Preez insists that the Springboks need continuity in coaching and that a change in the current contracting of system of coaches would go a long way in alleviating the pressure in the build-up to World Cups.
“He (Meyer) has had a pretty solid four years and at some point SA rugby needs continuity, you can’t just change guys in between World Cups. Rather let it run for four years, two years before a World Cup to two years after a World Cup. It puts pressure on the coaching staff during the preparation for the World Cup because nobody knows if they have a job for the following year while preparing for a World Cup. My suggestions would be, whoever they decide on, let the contract go past the World Cup. He (Meyer) pulled us together after the Japan game and it was just small margins in us getting to the final and winning it,” Du Preez said.