CJ fated to carry front row
CJ van der Linde, Wian du Preez and Adriaan Strauss have been gifted a fantastic opportunity to prove their front-row worth.
Injuries have robbed Chiliboy Ralepelle, Jannie Du Plessis and Gurthro Steenkamp of their respective chances to shine, and as fate would have it, three players who should always have featured now find themselves in line to battle the French.
Van der Linde’s move to Leinster was met with regret, Ollie le Roux once telling this website the incumbent Boks lacked a genuine tighthead who was as mean or versatile. It was a big disappointment of Springbok legend Os du Randt that Du Preez and Strauss failed to make the initial touring squad, as the Bok coaching staff obviously didn’t view the pair as long-term prospects.
Three injuries later, and Van der Linde, Du Preez and Strauss have the opportunity to alter perception. Those in the know reckon they deserve their Bok jerseys ahead of Du Plessis, Steenkamp and Ralepelle, and after being named on the bench, the weight of Test performance should be added to what would appear a one-sided debate.
The policy preventing foreign-based players from playing for the Boks is not set in stone, and this is why Van der Linde now finds himself in the mix. If he makes a big impact on this three-Test tour, how can the coaching staff continue to ignore his obvious talents?
It’s not as easy as rocking up and performing this Friday. The World Cup-winning tighthead hasn’t played for the Boks since the 2008 Tri-Nations and questions will be asked about his ability to perform in an altered South African set-up.
What’s in Van der Linde’s favour is his experience scrumming in front of locks Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha. He also has enjoyed many games alongside Du Preez and Strauss for the Cheetahs at Super 14 and Currie Cup level.
Peter de Villiers has named the Cheetahs trio on a Bok bench that sees five forwards and two backs. These forwards should be utilised as the Boks look to maintain their intensity over an 80-minute period. If they make an impact, they need to be rewarded. If it becomes clear they will contribute to a successful World Cup defence, then they will need to be retained.
Keo.co.za has it on good authority that the French Test squad took heart from the forward capitulation at Leicester. Perhaps France don’t know that South Africa are touring with a first- and third-string side, rather than the conventional first and second, and thus expect the Bok seniors to be only marginally better than the Leicester losers.
Marc Lievremont has talked the Boks up over the past month, and his selections are geared toward a physical bout, with emphasis on the set-phases. William Servat (hooker) and Romain Millo-Chluski (lock) are powerful scrumming options while aside from a dependable second row the hosts will look to Imanol Harinordoquy as banker at the tail of the lineout.
The Boks are favourites in every department bar the scrum. They’ve been inconsistent this season, and given the amount of rugby Beast Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis and John Smit have endured in 2009, they’ll be hard pressed to deliver a strong showing.
De Villiers has his bankers on the bench. If the Boks are looking to realise the dual ambition of an unbeaten tour and squad development ahead of the World Cup, they could do worse than invest in Van der Linde, Du Preez and Strauss.
All three have the pedigree, but the proof is in the performance. A strong showing and they should become the understudies to the incumbents and not return to club and domestic obscurity when Ralepelle, Du Plessis and Steenkamp return from injury.
Heinrich Brussow and Morne Steyn usurped Schalk Burger and Ruan Pienaar respectively when both fell foul to injury. As long as Van der Linde, Du Preez and Strauss perform, they should be treated exactly the same. Through the ill-fate of three others, they now have that opportunity.
By Jon Cardinelli, in Toulouse
November 11th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Saracens scrumhalf Neil de Kock has issued a rallying call to all Springbok fans in London – come and support your team at Wembley next Tuesday evening.
The Boks, who play a Test against France this Friday, will play a midweek game against Saracens – the Guinness Premiership pace-setters, their second non-Test encounter of their end-of-season tour.
“We’ve played at Wembley once before this season – against Northampton,” De Kock told rugby365.com, “the ground was half full, but it was still a great day out.
“As we all know there are plenty of South Africans living in London and they like nothing more than getting behind their national teams when they play here – hopefully they will do the same come next Tuesday and fill the stadium.
“Wembley is a great stadium and not many rugby players will have the opportunity to play at this historic venue – of course, it would be an even more amazing occasion were we to fill the ground.”
Thirty-year-old De Kock played 10 Tests for the Springboks between 2001 and 2003, but – interestingly – never once had the opportunity of playing in a non-Test (or midweek) game for his country.
“When I was growing up I loved watching those midweek games when the Boks toured places like Australia and New Zealand in the early 90s,” he said.
“It’s great to see the Boks taking the game to clubs like Leicester and Saracens and it’s also a great opportunity for us South Africans in the team to play against the Boks – something that doesn’t exactly come around more than once in your career.”
Of course, De Kock is just one of many South African players set to turn out for the Men in Black against the world champions on Tuesday, November 17.
Centre Brad Barritt (who has thrown in his lot with England), lock Mouritz Botha, hooker Schalk Brits, fullback Michael Horak, flyhalf Derick Hougaard, loose forwards Ernst Joubert and Justin Melck, hooker Ethienne Reynecke and flanker Wikus van Heerden – all of whom hail from South Africa – have all played for Saracens this season and look set to feature, in some way, against the Boks.
“It’s quite bizarre, actually, to be playing against the Springboks,” said De Kock to this website, emphasising his thoughts from earlier.
“I guess everyone will have something to prove – the so-called fringe members of the Bok team and certainly all of us in the Saracens team – but this fixture is a win-win affair for everyone; the Boks can test their ‘next best’ players, whilst it also gives us another opportunity to see just where we stand as a team.”
De Kock, who turns 31 just three days after the Saracens-Springboks fixture, has been at Saracens since the start of the 2006/07 season.
Having played all his Super Rugby for the Stormers, and most of his Currie Cup rugby for Western Province, he is familiar with many players in the Bok squad – but, as he is quick to point out, certainly not everyone.
“I played with a guy like Andries Bekker (at the Stormers) and against Gurthrö Steenkamp and Ruan Pienaar, but – without trying to give my age away – I haven’t played against many of the guys in the midweek squad,” said De Kock with a chuckle.
“But these players are the future of Springbok rugby, and certainly the purpose of playing fixtures like these… These guys will hopefully be pushing the Test incumbents in the not-too-distant future – even if they make me feel old!”
November 11th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Neil looks good in a fez.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:07 am
#96 bloukie:
and her calf….rikki….
November 11th, 2009 at 11:15 am
#102 Dawn
Fez or no fez, dit sal great wees om Neil weer te sien uitdraf op Nuweland..
November 11th, 2009 at 11:16 am
#104 bloukie:
Te oud en koud
November 11th, 2009 at 11:19 am
#105 Dawn
Nog nooitie, girl….
November 11th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
morning all.no more accidents involving shark front-rowers?
November 11th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
No one is giving the French a chance according to the poll. I am just as hopeful , but geeze man , with Jacobs at 12, Kichner at 15 and Spies/Smith out im not overconfident.
Wynand Olivier should be starting ahead of Jacobs , they are gonna take a look at how Jamie Roberts powered through Jacobs’s channel in the British Lions series and do the same.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
**** these white knights in shining armour. Its more like a KKK meeting than a frontrow.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
#108 wp_boytjie: lets be hopefull!positions are at stake and a chance to prove ones worth is a huge motivator…adi at 12 may work ,closer to the forwards -not a huge concern imo
November 11th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
#110 bolandboy: another point, good to draw defenders closer to our forwards now with brussow ,may they target adi, loose the ball close to the set piece and have it turned over -trojan horse ,what may seem as a gift is a tactic instead??
November 11th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
#111 bolandboy: attackers
November 11th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
#108 wp_boytjie: jamie roberts,your hero,looked rather ordinary against the all blacks on saturday!
November 11th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
#108 wp_boytjie: ya, just look at how wonderfully WO performed in the 3rd test against the B&I Lions
November 11th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
#5 kwas: Kwas, as jy so oor Bokke spanmaats, en veral die kaptein praat, dan is dit n goeie ding jy bly in kanada and jy moet daar bly ou maat.
Jy vergeet baie vinnig die goeie spel wat Smit en Beast aflewer vir die Bokke ne?
skaam jou
I can translate that to Canadian if you need me to
November 11th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
why in heavens name do we still persist with wynand olivier?he has been given numerous chances in the past and time after time he has proven that he is at most an average s14 player.i really do believe that he would struggle to get into an english premiership team…maybe leeds because they are **** in any case.
November 11th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
#114 AndrewBK:
Not to mention how he was manhandled by Tuilagi in the Leicester fixture.
November 11th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
#117 Vetkoek: Tuilagi is a big boy – is he the one selected for England ?
November 11th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Not sure if he’s been picked. He’s a beast, but he’s as predictable as they come. Catch, bash and go to ground. He may be difficult to bring down, but 8 out of 10 times, you don’t have to worry about him offloading in the tackle.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
#116 Valkyrie:
It will probably just take as long as it took people to realise how **** Jannie Dup is. The fact that WO is playing in a successful BB and Bulls team is currently helping him to gloss over his weaknesses.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
#116 Valkyrie: Spoken like a true non-Bull. If Olivier was merely average how did the Bull backs manage to outclass almost all of their oposition in the S14 2009? How did he manage score a telling try by wrong-footing the Cheetahs in the group stage of CC? You can’t expect a guy to shine by giving an odd game and using him as a replacement at #12. Even Juan de Villiers was so-so before he established himself.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
This should be interesting if CJ starts, Healy(new Irish Prop) apparently was CJ’s understudy until he got injured. Actually Healy attributes most of his skills to Springbok props. He considers Ollie Le Roux his mentor and now CJ. Should be great fun to see them up against each other.
This is from a piece from Scrum.com
He continually credits ex-Leinster and South Africa prop Ollie le Roux with teaching him the intricacies of loose-head play.
“It was brilliant training with Ollie. He’d straight up tell you when you’re doing something wrong, and say ‘maybe if you tried to move your foot that way, it might work better’,” says Healy.
Now the apprentice has become the master and though Cian Healy remains unheralded on a global stage for the time being – that should all change when Australia’s put-upon scrum comes to Croke Park in a few weeks’ time.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
#117 Vetkoek: Please if anyone was man-handled it was little De Younge, he kept bouncing off tackles like a ping pong ball.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
now that must be something to behold,to see ollie moving his leg that way,because the man is a serial pie-eater and normally goes around at night-time locking-up spur restaurants!
November 11th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Oh the great scrumming force that is CJ. He’s very dynamic and can play both tight and loose-head, but I’m not sure I’ve seen him demolish international front-rows.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
And that’s why CJ has a win record of 58%. He destroys teams at scrum time and they can’t recover, teams like Fiji and Scotland!
November 11th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
#125 Ratel Brussow (MSIUR): but he gains parity….better than the turbo reverse front row we got right now…
November 11th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
haven’t blogged in a while but it amazes me how as soon as a player steps out of the scene for a while, upon his return he’s suddenly made out to be so terrific. CJ never did anything special for the boks when he was last playing for them. He’s suddenly got this folklore status simply coz he’s been out of the picture for a while and we are desperate to try and find saviours for our scrum
November 11th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
#127 grant10: I think we’re failing to show a little respect for the efforts of beast smit and bissie over the last year…theyve been immense in their allround game and have played double the amount of rugby as some of the rookie names being touted around from the cheetahs and WP…to have the same intensity for test rugby all year round takes a lot more than playing currie cup for a few months in the middle of the year
November 11th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
yeah, ppl getting ahead of themselves if expecting cj to push the french scrum, not going to happen, he’s as powerful a TH SA have, but what he brings is alot of physicality to the tightloose.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
#127 grant10: When you mean the “turbo-reverse front-row” are you actually talking about the 4th most used combination in bok history (10 tests starting, the record at 14) and of the 10 tests they have started the boks have won 9. That probably the most successful bok front-row of all time. But never mind. You know best. CJ, Strauss and Wiaan are much better? Are they, moron?
November 11th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
#129 flanka: Agree and well said.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
#127 grant10: Get some respect for the team you claim to ’support’, before you come here talking trash about players with proven records.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
#129 flanka: Exactly.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
#127 grant10: By the way ***-burglar, the “GREAT” scrumming combo that was Os, John, CJ started 12 together and lost 6 of those. That’s 50% genius, now compare that with the current front-row record of 90%. By your logic, we are more successful with a ‘weak’ scrummaging unit.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
#135 Ratel Brussow (MSIUR): what the hell is a ‘*** burglar’?
November 11th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
#136 grant10:
If its what I think it is, it could be a good thing as long as your blonde doesn’t find out 
November 11th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
#136 grant10: Its similar to an oxygen thief. You stole your mothers milk, hanging on her breasts like an overgrown cuckoo. Hence the word ***-burglar.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
#137 Sharksgirl: #138 Ratel Brussow (MSIUR): Good heavens!!
Thats a low blow…i think i prefer Sharksgirls definition!
Hell you would sware its my fault J Smit cant play at 3!
November 11th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
#126 Ratel Brussow (MSIUR):
actually watch him against argentina at the world cup he got nailed….
November 11th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
#139 grant10: You did ask….
November 11th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
#140 gunther: That’s what he meant…the sarcasm card
November 11th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
#138 Ratel Brussow (MSIUR): LOL! Boardshorts
November 11th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
#140 gunther: Sorry, sarcasm is the limit of my ‘humor’.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
#143 Mutant: Overboardshorts!
November 11th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
#139 grant10: Sorry mine wasn’t meant to be a blow, was trying to tease you
November 11th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
#133 Ratel Brussow (MSIUR): you are really some tough keyboard gangster hey!
November 11th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
I understand the sarcasm I was just pointing out a specific instance I watched it the other day and it struck me…
I have always thought bj botha to be very ordinary in the scrums he slips his bind and gives away penalties like a paedo gives candy…we were never convincing at scrumtime with these guys..
November 11th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
#147 Valkyrie: No just fed up of Grant and his cronies tuning the bok front-row without any shred of evidence.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
#148 gunther: Exactly, now everybody wants to make changes and bring back these guys. Why?