Boks taking no one lightly
WE WILL PLAY WITH THE SAME INTENSITY AS THE ALL BLACK GAME
Schalk Brits to lead the Springboks from eighthman.
The Springboks will approach their second World Cup pool match against Namibia this weekend with the same intensity as their opening game against New Zealand, coach Rassie Erasmus stressed yesterday.
Erasmus announced 13 changes to the team who lost 23-13 to the All Blacks last week, with only wing Makazole Mapimpi and centre Lukhanyo Am retained in the starting line-up.
“Every match is a must-win game for us now and we are treating this match with the same level of preparation as we did for New Zealand last week,” Erasmus said.
“This is a Springbok team that is hungry to play and show what they can do, and the majority of them have had the chance to play as a combination together a couple of times this season.”
Schalk Brits, who was named at No 8, was set to captain the side for the second time this season after leading the Boks to a 24-18 win over Argentina at Loftus just prior to their departure for Japan.
With no hooker named among the replacements, Erasmus said Brits would provide cover in the front row, while Franco Mostert would cover the blindside flanker spot from the bench, as back-up for Francois Louw.
Nine of the players in the team started in the national squad’s Rugby Championship win over Australia at Ellis Park earlier this year, while six of the seven players on the bench for the clash at Toyota Stadium this weekend were in the starting side last week.
The only real surprise, however, was the absence of centre Jesse Kriel, who had been ruled out after picking up a hamstring injury.
Erasmus admitted they needed to gain some momentum in their World Cup campaign.
“They’ve got an important job to do. You always lose momentum in a defeat and we need to regain that with a victory and a strong performance,” he said.
The match was set to be only the third meeting between South Africa and Namibia, but Erasmus did not expect a repeat of the blow-outs in the previous encounters.
The Boks recorded a 105-13 victory at Newlands in Cape Town on the eve of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, and the teams met for the second time during the 2011 tournament in New Zealand when the Boks shut out Namibia with an 87-0 win.
“Already we’ve seen that the tier two nations are increasingly competitive in this tournament,” Erasmus said.