De Villiers, Matfield handed ‘final warning’
SPRINGBOK coach Heyneke Meyer’s two chief lieutenants, Jean de Villiers and Victor Matfield, will be off the field before half time in tomorrow’s crucial World Cup match against Samoa if they do not follow instructions and, in the case of De Villiers, is not showing improved form.
It has been reliably learned that a furious Meyer told the senior pair that their failure to carry out instructions played a major part in the disaster against Japan.
During the match, Meyer sent messages on that the team had to cease the ball-in-hand approach that was playing into the hands of the Japanese, who were thriving on the fast pace of the game, and revert to the premeditated plan of tactical kicking, and driving and mauling by the forwards.
The pair has been given the work place equivalent of a “final warning” and it is known that De Villiers, below left, could be off before the 30-minute mark and youngster Jesse Kriel brought on to be reunited with Damian de Allende.
Schalk Burger will assume the captaincy should De Villiers be pulled off and Matfield, below right, be replaced by the sensational youngster Lood de Jager, who many feel should not have been dropped. Matfield has long been known as Meyer’s right hand man, dating back to their glory days at the Bulls and Meyer helped convince Matfield into making a comeback, but in recent months their relationship has allegedly become strained because of Matfield’s strong influence on the players.
Meyer has long been criticised for gambling on older and injured players for this World Cup and is incensed that his loyalty has been betrayed.
Usually, a Test match against Samoa would not loom large on the Springbok radar but these are unusual times for the beleaguered Boks, and who would have imagined that a World Cup match against the Pacific Islanders in Birmingham could be one of the most important the history of the Springboks.
The Boks have never lost to Samoa, but three months ago they had never lost to Argentina or Japan…