Coach mum on who will be No 7 for Springboks
WHEN asked about the impact Jean-luc du Preez could have should he start Saturday’s first test against France at Loftus Versfeld, Springbok assistant coach Johann van Graan was typically diplomatic.
However, he certainly let out what his head coach Allister Coetzee and he by extension, as the forwards coach, want from their blindside flank.
With Duane Vermeulen having joined the side from Toulon after their bruising 22-16 Top 14 final loss to Clermont despite his shoulder injury, a lot will be expected from whoever dons the number seven jersey.
Du Preez and Cheetahs loose forward Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje are in contention for a starting berth Vermeulen has vacated through injury.
Both players have been important cogs for their Super Rugby franchises and with Warren Whiteley having locked onto the number eight jersey through his form and captaincy, the blindside role will be up for grabs.
Whoever excels will probably be the first-choice blindside flanker for the Rugby Championship.
“He’s very excited about the players in the group and it doesn’t matter which combination the coach goes for,” Van Graan said.
“It’s an interesting question that I can’t answer because the decision lies with Allister Coetzee.”
“Oupa has been a good carrier in the last couple of weeks and when you spend time with a player, you get to know how they use their feet and dominate in contact.
“With Jaco Kriel in the wide channels, Warren has improved a lot and is one of the top number eights in the world. He has so many things you don’t notice. The metres that he runs in practice and the speed at which he does it is impressive.”
By that stretch, Van Graan and Coetzee have an idea of what their back row will look like on Saturday against a French side coming off a long domestic season.
But nevertheless there is still the mystique of the French and their unpredictability that former Springbok coach Jake White recently claimed does not exist.
But Van Graan looked past White’s comments, saying the French could not be taken lightly.
“The only thing I can say is that they’re a very good side and they’ve got some neat structures. They’re good at what they do and they carried the most ball in the Six Nations from their own half,” he said.
“They also had the best set-scrum percentage.
“Whether they exit with their scrum, penalty or kick the ball, they can get behind you.
“They’ve also got some very good decision-makers in their team.
“The driving maul is not only a massive part in South African rugby, but in world rugby.
“Last year, we drove the third-most in the world as England were the world leaders in the use of the driving maul.
“The French also maul well and are very good at stopping the maul so we know what we’re up against.”
ONE of the key areas receiving attention in the Springboks’ preparations for Saturday’s first test against France at Loftus Versfeld is the effectiveness of the rolling maul.
The lack of proper rolling mauls was identified as one of the troublesome areas when the Springboks won just four out of 12 international rugby matches last year.
Speaking at a media conference at the team’s base in Pretoria yesterday‚ Springbok assistant coach Johann van Graan said the squad was working on finding solutions to that problem.
“The driving maul is a massive part of world rugby [and] if you look at what happened at Super Rugby‚ all the teams use their drives‚” he said.
“Last year, we were the team that drove the third most and we must continue, as it is one of our strengths.”
Van Graan said the traditional rolling maul had worked well for the Springboks in the past.
The Lions have been impressive with their running mauls in Super Rugby this year – and it is hoped the influence of captain Warren Whiteley and a number of his franchise teammates will rub off on the Springboks.
The Boks are also looking to stamp their authority on the scrums and the lineouts‚ areas they used to dominate.
“Once again‚ if you look at 2016 and combine the scrum and lineout percentages‚ South Africa and France were No 1 in the world.
“They are very good at scrums‚ lineouts and have some very good movements‚” Van Graan said.
The Springboks have prop Steven Kitshoff‚ loose forward Duane Vermeulen and flyhalf-centre Frans Steyn, who play their rugby for Bordeaux‚ Toulon and Montpellier in France respectively.
Van Graan hopes they will provide vital information on the French players and help with planning for the clash.
Vermeulen has, however, been ruled out of the series.
He injured his shoulder while playing for Toulon in a Top 14 final loss to Cleremont on Sunday.
But Van Graan said: “We are lucky to have a number of players playing in France and hopefully we will use their knowledge to our advantage.
“We don’t have that much information about France, bar the Six Nations, and they will probably have new things, but we’ve done our homework.”
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