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
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 [6] 7 8 9 10 11 … 15 » Show All
12 Aug 2008, 13:58 pm
#216 MG:
You beat me to it. Anyone of 3 players, including Watson could have scored Spies’s try. Watson plays a very intelligent game at the breakdown, deciding when to compete and when to defend the fringes.
12 Aug 2008, 13:58 pm
#146 SharkMarine:
Apparently not, or as far as I can find out.
#133 Tacitus:
Ray Mordt 12 tries
Gerrie Germishuys 12
Mark Andrews 12
Bob Skinstad 11
Schalk Burger Jnr 10
Juan Smith 10
Johann van Niekerk 10
12 Aug 2008, 13:58 pm
#3 klippies101: Do you have ANYTHING that can corroborate that rumour? What Aussie paper did you read it in? Who was the journalist responsible?
12 Aug 2008, 13:59 pm
no dawn iam taliing in general the when the kiwi refs r involed alot of unfair calls r made againt theboks i think we need refs from the nh
12 Aug 2008, 13:59 pm
ja it was im the west australian
12 Aug 2008, 13:59 pm
I am a prophet indeed.
Last week when everyone had a clafoutis about Jonge, I told them all to relax, he won’t be seen in a Bok jersey again.
How true my words.
12 Aug 2008, 13:59 pm
#241 Dawn: Thanx Dawn this fool knows nothing. Where you disappear to?
12 Aug 2008, 14:00 pm
remeber the ireland game john was told go nd talk to your players and when he did the ref called play on and ireland won the game all this while john was talking to the players
12 Aug 2008, 14:00 pm
So the all black team has been announced but webmaster won’t let me post it.
no surprises, only one change on the bench.
Looks a very good team indeed…..
12 Aug 2008, 14:01 pm
#243 flanka:
No sweat, Flanka.
I was confused.
Only a prop you know!!
12 Aug 2008, 14:01 pm
How on Earth they can drop the MoM-matchwinner from Dunedin – Januarie – and replace him with a player that has not been fully-tested this season – du Preez – is beyond me. FdP is a fine player indeed but form is everything at this level. It shows nothing less than favouritism and could easily cause friction within the squad. Januarie virtually won that match on his own !
Big call.
12 Aug 2008, 14:01 pm
i dont think jonge is that bad a player i still think tondi should be in the boks his pace is awesome him and habana in one team is great
12 Aug 2008, 14:01 pm
I hope we drop the helter skelter “swing it, swing it, look to offload in every tackle, oops there’s another turnover, tackle, tackle, tackle” approach…
12 Aug 2008, 14:02 pm
#253 iori Yagami:
Lunch.
NOW HOW CAN I GET HOLD OF A KALASHNIKOV WATCH!
Nothing more irritating than they advertise on the homepage WITHOUT ANY CONTACT DETAILS
12 Aug 2008, 14:02 pm
where di u see the all black team posted any suprisies?
12 Aug 2008, 14:02 pm
#245 klippies101: Jean Deysel.
12 Aug 2008, 14:02 pm
#244 rangerman: Boks by 10 – based on what – home ground advantage ?
Boks will be beaten at the scrum and smashed at the breakdown
12 Aug 2008, 14:03 pm
#260 BlackPanther: en jy is n eenoog monstertjie. gaan speel nou erens anders toe. idiot.
12 Aug 2008, 14:03 pm
Good team. I would have had played Joe instead of Fluke and Ruan instead of Enrico……
He can take leave until Januarie….
12 Aug 2008, 14:03 pm
Dawn:For your info,he didnt disappear.We all knew that he replaced Habana because of the injury.I cant believe you still call him a fool after what he did on sat.I think you are the fool as colour blinds your eyes…
12 Aug 2008, 14:03 pm
corne should hand out the jersey at newlands on satday
\and teichman should hand em out at durbs agaisnt the aussies
12 Aug 2008, 14:04 pm
#251 klippies101: it ain’t mentioned anywhere on their website. Do you have the article in front of you? Do you have a scanner?
12 Aug 2008, 14:04 pm
The pressure is mounting!
12 Aug 2008, 14:04 pm
#260 Dawn: Nice one. where do you work?
12 Aug 2008, 14:04 pm
#266 Virus:
Read my post again. Slowly.
12 Aug 2008, 14:04 pm
did cornes bok team ever beat the abs?
12 Aug 2008, 14:04 pm
#231 David: ja, funny bunch on here.
#240 Saffa_Guy: PdV’s Boks By 5: yup.
#242 Crown as in Thomas: butch defo looked better when ricky went off and the ball wasnt bypassing him, flying over his head or he was having to catch it at arms length behind him
players are rotated and belong to a squad. its not about individuals(unlike the ANC), but gameplans and combinations.
12 Aug 2008, 14:05 pm
#267 klippies101: Corne who…. loose head cannon?
12 Aug 2008, 14:05 pm
#270 iori Yagami:
Shell?
12 Aug 2008, 14:05 pm
now thjis team just needs the mental hardness and self belief ….and they can go all hte way – and ofcourse outstanding fitness
12 Aug 2008, 14:05 pm
no i dont sorry i got a call from a firend saying he had seen it i nthe aussie paper west australian but twas a back issue
12 Aug 2008, 14:06 pm
How do I get hold of a Kalshnikov watch?
12 Aug 2008, 14:06 pm
SPRINGBOK TEAM VS THE ALL BLACKS
15. Percy Montgomery – Mils Muliaina – Mils is better
14. JP Pietersen – Sivivatu – Sivi is better
13. Adrian Jacobs – Conrad Smith – even
12. Jean de Villiers – Ma ‘a Nonu – both have a different game, even
11. Bryan Habana – Richard Kahui – Bryan probably better, (more
experience), Kahui smarter;
10. Butch James – Daniel Carter – compete mismatch, Dan Carter is better by a mile
9. Fourie du Preez – Jimmy the boozer – same
8. Pierre Spies – Rodders – Rodders is better by a mile, Spies is retarded
7. Juan Smith – Richie McCaw – McCaw is better by a mile
6. Schalk Burger – Jerome Kaino – Schalk Burger is better.
5. Victor Matfield – Ali Williams – Williams these days, as Victor sucks with his 3 2 4, lost his mojo.
4. Andries Bekker – Brad Thorn – Thorn
3. CJ van der Linde – Somerville – Yoda better
2. Bismarck du Plessis – Andrew Hore – Hore (same)
1. Tendai Mtawarira – Woodcock – Woodcock better
12 Aug 2008, 14:07 pm
#267 klippies101:
Is that an opinion or a fact?
12 Aug 2008, 14:07 pm
i really hope our attack improves under gold . ja but my friend did have a copy of the paper so i havent seen the article myself
12 Aug 2008, 14:07 pm
pretty good team allthough i have my doubts over fdp,he’ll do everything right and won’t let the team down however i doubt that he’ll apply the same sort of pressure that rikki would’ve applied on carter,rikki’s also a better defender
12 Aug 2008, 14:07 pm
#277 klippies101: can’t have been too far back, mate – the Aussies only made the announcement 4 days ago that they were going to allow foreign players into their squads. Bismarck is not eligible for Aussie selection, so under the old rules he would not have been able to play for an Aus team.
I think you’re basically being fed a load of ****, to be honest.
12 Aug 2008, 14:08 pm
#261 klippies101:
whats your IQ buddy? You seem a bit slow. You have come up with some of the most random comments i have ever seen.
12 Aug 2008, 14:08 pm
#274 Tisme: hey dude! Where’ve you been hiding?
12 Aug 2008, 14:08 pm
#278 Dawn: The Kalashnikov Watch shop is right next to the Kalashnikov Gun Shop !
12 Aug 2008, 14:09 pm
#264 klippies101: http://www.rugbyheaven.co.nz
12 Aug 2008, 14:09 pm
just an opinion seens gary was such a great bok and sharks captain
12 Aug 2008, 14:09 pm
dankie windhond
12 Aug 2008, 14:10 pm
#267 klippies101: I’ve heard that a law has been passed preventing Corne Krige from ever touching another Bok jersey again for as long as he lives. And rightly so.
12 Aug 2008, 14:10 pm
#277 klippies101:
how many have you had today ? your spelling is really slurred
12 Aug 2008, 14:10 pm
#213 Crown as in Thomas:
He had one moment of brillance… Woopdedooooo
He has the worst pass of any scrumhalf and constantly gets caught with the ball… Nuggety he is but thas it.. Oh and in your face with good defense.
12 Aug 2008, 14:11 pm
#275 Dawn: Oh nice in Cape Town? I wanted to apply there for inservice but the post was in Joburg.
12 Aug 2008, 14:11 pm
#263 vindicated: you keep banging that drum chap. we havent been “smashed” at the scrum this year. beaten by the AB’s in the first test yes, but smashed no.
unlike your bunch of dunkin donut dirt eaters.
i base a 10 pt win for the boks on superior tactical kicking by percy, butch and FdP whilst the AB’s have dan………thats it.
we will win the lineouts with the tallest ever bok and matfield.
we will gain parity in the scrums.
the breakdowns? well thats the pearler aint it? we shall see but expect schalk to be back to his wrecking ball best.
the FdP/butch combo will do well. mark my words, the spark will be there on sat.
habana will be hungry, jpp safe again.
and yes, it is at home, with percy playing his 100th test.
boks by 10.
12 Aug 2008, 14:11 pm
#264 Windhond_Sharks:
wie u roep idioot, neuk gesig
12 Aug 2008, 14:12 pm
ja well i put klippies in my cornflakes hard to spell after that
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 [6] 7 8 9 10 11 … 15 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.