Boks call up big guns
12 Aug 2008
Percy Montgomery and Fourie du Preez will start against the All Blacks on Saturday.
They replace Ricky Januarie and Conrad Jantjes in the starting line-up, with the other changes coming at lock, where Andries Bekker starts in place of the injured Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger in for Luke Watson at openside flank and Danie Rossouw and Frans Steyn coming onto the wood.
Montgomery will earn his 100th Test cap at Newlands in a back three that won the World Cup and one that started when they broke a 10-year losing streak at Dunedin earlier in the tournament.
“It’s a special moment for me, particularly because it’s at Newlands where I spent a big part of my career and against the All Blacks. You couldn’t have asked for a better script,” he told keo.co.za. Montgomery will share his special occasion with Juan Smith, who makes his 50th appearance for the Springboks.
Du Preez was somewhat of a surprise inclusion given how loyal coach Peter De Villiers has been to Ricky Januarie. However, there can be no question that Du Preez offers a more complete option, particularly from a tactical-kicking perspective.
De Villiers said it was a hard decision to drop Januarie but pointed towards fatigue as a decisive factor.
“We can’t live in the past. We have to move on,” De Villiers said in response to the question of whether Januarie’s performance against the All Blacks in Dunedin wasn’t enough to warrant a start.
“If you look at Ricky’s workload this year in the Super 14 and in the Test matches, you’ll realise that a lot has been asked of him. The legs were definitely starting to get a bit heavier and it was time to make the change.
“I’ve always promised players that I’ll be honest with them in all areas and while it was a hard call to make, I feel it was the right one given the type of game we want to play. It’s great to be in a position to say to two players who have done nothing wrong, ‘Look sorry but you’re not going to start’. It’s a blessing.”
Du Preez and Montgomery’s inclusion hints that their play may be characterised by territorial dominance gained through tactical kicking. De Villiers refused to confirm the game plan, saying: “I might as well invite the All Blacks to our training sessions if I told you that.
“Ricky and Conrad don’t have bad kicking games at all,” he asserted. “But Fourie is very good off the boot and Percy offers us a left-footed option which is valuable. We know how we want to play against New Zealand and those players offer us the strengths we need to play the game we want to.”
Asked whether their inclusion was partly designed to take some kicking pressure off Butch James, De Villiers said: “I aim to have 15 perfect players who are able to execute a wide range of skills. They will read the situation and play accordingly. But it’s always soothing to know you have two players who can do that job and that frees Butch to shift the ball.”
Captain Victor Matfield said he expected a physical contest. “We’ll give each other as good as we get. It won’t be a lot different to traditional Springbok/All Blacks Tests.”
In Dunedin the All Blacks dominated possession 58% to 42%, while they spent 66% of the game in South Africa’s territory. Despite this, the Springboks scored two tries to their one and crafted the better scoring opportunities. This also speaks volumes about the defensive work done by the visitors, who began to slip tackles late in the match (a total of 22 to New Zealand’s 6) but scrambled desperately in search of redemption. They made 205 tackles in total – massive by Test standards.
Asked if they expected to defend as much as that this weekend Matfield was non-committal.
“If you look at the stats from games over the last two years you’ll see that often the team that has less possession won the game. Maybe there’s a trend developing there,” he said.
“But decision making will be key. We put a premium on keeping possession but it’s important that we read the situation and make sharp decisions and execute accurately. Using the ball in the right manner is extremely important against the All Blacks.”
Springboks – 15 Percy Montgomery, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adi Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Andries Bekker, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Frans Steyn, 22 Conrad Jantjes
By Ryan Vrede, in Cape Town
731 Comments
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12 Aug 2008, 12:47 pm
bokke!!!
12 Aug 2008, 12:48 pm
Wooohoooooooooo, excellent team…..Cant wait for Saturday!!!!!
12 Aug 2008, 12:49 pm
keo is it true bout bismark that he might be palying fir the western force one day
12 Aug 2008, 12:49 pm
15 Percy Montgomery,22 Percy Montgomery
Verstaan nie so mooi nie???? huh huh? is Percy 15 or is he 22? wat gaan aan
12 Aug 2008, 12:49 pm
I see Percy is on the bench as well. now thats what I call a utility player.
12 Aug 2008, 12:49 pm
I cant believe it how on earth could Luke Watson be picked in front of Big Joe.
Mujati is also not better than Gurthro
I doesn’t make sense at all.
Rest of team ok maybe ??
12 Aug 2008, 12:50 pm
Looking good, is the number 22 Percy’s clone or his son?
12 Aug 2008, 12:50 pm
Grant kom in oor? what is Percy playing? is he on the bench or in the beginning team?
12 Aug 2008, 12:50 pm
2XPERCY??????
12 Aug 2008, 12:50 pm
BEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT
12 Aug 2008, 12:50 pm
the aussie newspapers r saying there is a deal to try and get bismark
12 Aug 2008, 12:51 pm
Holy smokes, my hero PdV has perfected cloning players! PdV is a super, duper coach indeedy
12 Aug 2008, 12:51 pm
Good team , good to see FDP starts with Percy at full back. We going to need all the experience for this game.
12 Aug 2008, 12:51 pm
#6 sienersmirrie: I have to agree on both your observations…otherwise strong team
12 Aug 2008, 12:52 pm
Good team. We gonna take em.
12 Aug 2008, 12:52 pm
I see Percy is playing at 15 AND 22 … impressive
12 Aug 2008, 12:52 pm
Eish , where did we get the other Percy from.
well we can use both of them
12 Aug 2008, 12:53 pm
i cant believe ryan kanko ddint make rthe cut or spies
12 Aug 2008, 12:53 pm
#13 Andre_WP: We hope so….seems to be some confusion as Percy is to start and cover himself off the bench
what do I betya that Jantjes is gonna start?
12 Aug 2008, 12:54 pm
#18 klippies101:
Klippies ophou drink. Spies is nommer 8
12 Aug 2008, 12:55 pm
ja so he is i cant read
12 Aug 2008, 12:55 pm
PERFECT team!
The Spies/Du Preez combination has won a S14 trophy together, and the Du Preez/James combination has a World Cup trophy under the belt.
Rossouw was always going to play off the bench, as he gives us so many extra options. Now, if the no.8 gets injured, we don’t have to bring Watson on as the smallest 8thman in world rugby, we have the World Cup winning no.8 in reserve. And, if we need an extra fetcher to help out Schalk, we can bring Smith off and send Watson on. (OK, I’d prefer a true fetcher over Watson, but Watson is better at the breakdown than the bigger, ball carrying loose forwards in the squad.)
It is difficult to choose a better team than this one with players currently available.
P.S. I also see that Percy Montgomery is loved so much that they have now cloned him and have him as a replacement for himself, sitting on the bench. I therefore assume that Jantjies is actually on the bench, and that the article contains an error.
I am very excited about the game after seeing the team that has been picked.
12 Aug 2008, 12:55 pm
Im loving the starting team, i suspect Percy is playing with Conrad playing 22.
GO BOKKKE.
GO FOURIE AND BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASSTT!
12 Aug 2008, 12:56 pm
percy is starting conrad on the wood
12 Aug 2008, 12:56 pm
i wish bj botha was in the squad big mistake to leave him out
12 Aug 2008, 12:57 pm
#21 klippies101: Dont worry, you cant read and Grant is confused
12 Aug 2008, 12:58 pm
aaagh i jsut want ot know if the bismakr story is true ek bly n shark i cant have him playing for the aussies
12 Aug 2008, 12:58 pm
The Springbok team versus the All Blacks on Saturday 16 August at Newlands:
15. Percy Montgomery
14. JP Pietersen
13. Adrian Jacobs
12. Jean de Villiers
11. Bryan Habana
10. Butch James
9. Fourie du Preez
8. Pierre Spies
7. Juan Smith
6. Schalk Burger
5. Victor Matfield
4. Andries Bekker
3. CJ van der Linde
2. Bismarck du Plessis
1. Tendai Mtawarira
Reserves
16. Adriaan Strauss
17. Brian Mujati
18. Danie Rossouw
19. Luke Watson
20. Enrico Januarie
21. Francois Steyn
22. Conrad Jantjes
12 Aug 2008, 12:58 pm
Good team. Only way to make that team better is to:
1. BJ replace CJ in the starting line-up.
2. CJ replace Mujati on the bench.
3. Bakkies replace Vic in the starting line-up. (I know – injured)
4. Jaque gets the 22 jersey.
12 Aug 2008, 12:58 pm
Goeie kombinasie FDP en Butch , nou gaan die agterlyn baie beter doen so glo ek in elk geval. FDP verseker die beste scrumskakel gewees verlede jaar gedurende die WB. Taktiese speler en lees die game baie goed. Sentres gaan ook goeie bal besit kry. Ja dink ons kan die een vat.
12 Aug 2008, 12:59 pm
this should be a lekker game
12 Aug 2008, 12:59 pm
Not bad, still concerned that BJ is not there and perhaps Danie is the man who should be starting but thats splitting hairs really if AB comes to the party in terms of physicality.
Luke had a great game in terms of his interlinking play last week so I guess that could be good coming on at the end. The big problem is still at the breakdown, this has proved to be our achillies heel all season, hopefully ‘the staff’ are able to address this.
All things considered a surprising dose of common sense going on here.
12 Aug 2008, 12:59 pm
My biggest worry with this team is Pierre Spies. We all know the breakdown is going to be key and he is probably our worst loosie in that department. Bismarck is probably going to have to pick up the slack.
12 Aug 2008, 12:59 pm
I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
I see a line of cars and theyre all painted black
With flowers and my love both never to come back
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like a new born baby it just happens evry day
I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door and it has been painted black
Maybe then Ill fade away and not have to face the facts
Its not easy facin up when your whole world is black…..
The Rolling Stones
12 Aug 2008, 13:00 pm
#6 sienersmirrie: Mujati can scrum on both sides, so if it comes to the bench he is the better option.
12 Aug 2008, 13:00 pm
matlfied needs to work in the break down more
12 Aug 2008, 13:02 pm
tis not the all blacks i am scared of this year but aussies
12 Aug 2008, 13:02 pm
#19 EEE: Jantjies on the bench i see , but i realy think we can take this one. Hope the weather plays along. That Carter is a ******* when it comes to wet fields
12 Aug 2008, 13:02 pm
Spot on, good call Oom Snor!
Go Bokke!!!
12 Aug 2008, 13:03 pm
#33 siener:
Yadyadayada…The no.8 should’nt be scrabbling for the ball on the ground. He should be running at the opposition all day long. The Watsons of this world should then be in close support, ready to win the ball back once the primary ball carrier has been tackled and gone to ground.
It shouldn’t be the other way around, with the Watsons doing the running, and the tall guys having to try and fight for the ball on the ground. Sort that out, and the breakdown will look a whole lot better.
12 Aug 2008, 13:04 pm
It’s not that easy bein’ green;
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold-
or something much more colorful like that.
It’s not easy bein’ green.
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things.
And people tend to pass you over ’cause you’re not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water- or stars in the sky.
Kermit the Frog
12 Aug 2008, 13:04 pm
#33 siener: Yip , Spies will have to get his act right now . Been off long enough , must get his form back.
12 Aug 2008, 13:04 pm
#22 Tacitus: Taciturn actually happy with something…
12 Aug 2008, 13:04 pm
#27 klippies101: Ons mag nie weer ‘n blerrie turncoat hê nie!!!!!!! Hy kan eerder vir die soutties gaan speel as die blerrie convicts!!!
12 Aug 2008, 13:04 pm
i think kanko should be there with botes
12 Aug 2008, 13:05 pm
#35 siener: i was just about to point that out.
also, the beast, cj and bis did well against the vaunted argie front row.
12 Aug 2008, 13:06 pm
#34 lapoftherugbygods: One of the all time bests……also love Stones’ Angie
12 Aug 2008, 13:06 pm
Now this is more like it! Pity about Bakkies, we would have been lethal with him. Hope du Preez can spark some magic from Butch (who will hopefully own Carter like he did in Dunedin). Go you beautiful Bok biscuits! P.S. Percy 4 president
12 Aug 2008, 13:06 pm
Great team. Joe should have been on the bench though.
12 Aug 2008, 13:06 pm
#34 lapoftherugbygods: so nz wear’s black… we get it.
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