Cheetahs too good for Bulls
Coach praises his skipper
FREE State Cheetahs coach Franco Smith believes centre Francois Venter‚ included in the Springbok touring squad on Saturday‚ will add great value to the national team.
Venter‚ 25‚ captained Free State to the Currie Cup title on Saturday when they beat the Blue Bulls 36-16 in Bloemfontein‚ and capped a fine day with a Bok call-up for Tests against England‚ Italy and Wales.
He was one of 12 uncapped players named in two squads – one to face the Barbarians and the other for the three Tests. But only four uncapped squad players were included in both squads – Venter‚ Cheetahs wing Sergeal Petersen‚ Blue Bulls flank Roelof Smit and Sharks flank Jean-Luc Du Preez.
“Francois has been knocking on the door for a while‚” Smith said.
“He’s a solid guy that works hard. I moved him from 12 to 13 a couple of years ago and he asked me: ‘Do you really believe I can become a Springbok at 13?’ I told him: ‘If you believe your junior coach who put you at 12 then it will be difficult, but if you are willing to work hard then you can become a Bok.’
“We’ve worked hard on his decision-making in the number 13 channel and it would be tough to move him back to 12‚ but he has the ability to play both positions. I’m also happy for the rest of the guys in the Bok squad‚ like Sergeal and Uzair Cassiem [in the Barbarians squad] because the Free State has been without Boks for a long time. It will give the rest of the players here confidence that the path we are on is the right one.”
Smith has been seconded to the Springbok management for the tour as a backline consultant where he will bring over 12 years of coaching experience to the squad. Bok coach Allister Coetzee made the announcement during the SA National Coaches Indaba in Cape Town‚ but Smith says his role hasn’t been formalised.
“I haven’t had time to have a proper chat with Allister yet but we will do that [this] week.” — TMG Digital