Boks to ring changes, but there’ll be no new faces
Arsenal boss happy with upward surge, warns team to stay grounded against Basel
Bok loose-trio. That would mean Jaco Kriel, the
pictured,
live-wire openside flank of the Lions and possibly South Africa’s most devastating loose-forward in the 2016 Super Rugby competition, again
ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has urged his side to carry the momentum from a longsought Premier League victory into the Champions League this week.
The Gunners host Basel in their second group match tonight, four days after beating Chelsea for the first time since 2011.
The Swiss champions are in fine form having won all nine of their league games with their only dropped points so far coming in a 1-1 draw with Ludogorats in their Champions League opener.
They have a good record playing off the bench, along with big Willem Alberts, who returned to the Bok side ahead of the Test in Christchurch two weeks ago. The debate around Louw and Kriel, and who should be starting for the Boks, has raged since June, but yesterday assistant coach Matt Proudfoot explained the thinking behind Louw being preferred to Kriel.
“I know there’s been some criticism levelled at the balance of the backrow, the combination we have in place, but I’m really happy with what they’ve been doing,” said Proudfoot yesterday.
“The question is, is a six an openside, a fetcher? I’m always baffled at that terminology.
“He (the openside flank) does a lot more than steal loose ball,” said Proudfoot. “The against English teams in the competition, having knocked Liverpool and Chelsea out of the group stage and defeated Manchester United over the past six seasons, and Wenger insists his team must maintain their focus.
“Everyone will think that Basel will be easy,” he said.
“Then you look at the results of Basel against English teams, and you realise it will not be easy.
“They beat Manchester United, they beat Chelsea, they beat Liverpool.
“So, let’s prepare properly and keep our feet on the ground because in our job, one thing I know if you are not prepared you are quickly hit on your head.” first role of an openside is to control the first breakdown (in a passage of play) ... he must take care of that ball to give his team continuity in attack.
“There I think Francois has been really, really good. In the previous game against the Wallabies, against (Michael) Hooper and (David) Pocock, our launch was good. I am happy (wit) what Francois is doing ... he also adds maturity to the backrow, which is important.”
Proudfoot also gave Mohoje and Whiteley the big thumbs up: “Oupa is developing nicely,
Arsenal needed a late Alexis Sanchez goal to draw 1-1 at Paris Saint-Germain in their first Champions League game.
That’s part of an unbeaten match run that reached seven with a dominating 3-0 win over Chelsea, an effort Wenger hailed as “one of our best performances of recent years.”
It came on the 20th anniversary of his hiring and the Frenchman admits the fire still burns for him after two decades.
“I’m hungrier because I know I have not 20 years in front of me,” he said.
“As well because I feel more the responsibility, you’re not 20 years somewhere and you don’t he’s doing well defensively and his breakdown work is good ... it’s a role spectators don’t see. And Warren’s playing really well. They’re working well together but there are areas we want them to improve on, but they’re working nicely.”
The Bok forwards coach then explained what role Kriel has in the team. “The big focus for me and Johan van Graan (assistant coach) is to create momentum in the pack ... that is, for the game plan to work we require a dominant pack, and we’ve been striving for that. care about things.
“I’m more conscious of what Arsenal is all about, so I think the weight of keeping people happy and making people happy is heavier than when I arrived.”
Wenger will need to make one change to the team from the Chelsea match after midfielder Francis Coquelin was forced off with a knee injury.
That could pave the way for summer signing Granit Xhaka to line up against their former side.
The Swiss international, who joined the Gunners for 35 million pounds (about R615m) from Borussia Moenchengladbach in May, began his career at his hometown club in 2010. We’ve possibly erred on the side of continuity and wanting to release players off the bench to add intensity to the game ... and Jaco has been thriving when the game opens up after halftime. He’s carried well, is extremely quick to get to the link points and does damage carrying the ball. It’s the same role we want Willem Alberts to perform.”
While the Bok back row is likely to be unchanged from their last meeting with the Wallabies, the visitors will be forced to make a change
He has been used sparingly so far this season, starting just three of his seven appearances, and has scored two stunning goals from long range.
Whichever line-up he uses, Wenger likes what he’s seen from his team recently and wants it to continue as they return to Europe.
“I felt that in the last three weeks, our team was on the way up,” he said after the Chelsea game.
“Today was a good test for us to see if that’s real, if we could continue to move upwards.
“Overall, the quality of our performance confirmed that we are on the way up
“Now let’s continue to improve. There’s still room for improvement.” because Pocock is injured and hasn’t come to South Africa. Proudfoot is still expecting the visitors to pick two specialist openside flanks.
“Their approach to the first breakdown will be to go hard at it, to slow us down. I don’t think they’ll change because one player is out,” said Proudfoot.
Lopeti Timani and Sean McMahon are the contenders to take Pocock’s place.
The tough choices facing Coetzee before he names his team are the following: Johan Goosen or Willie le Roux at fullback, Pat Lambie or Morne Steyn at flyhalf and Rudy Paige or Francois Hougaard at scrumhalf ?