Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Strauss: This is more about the way forward
Is it possible we will see something different from Coetzee’s men? Teams
IN the Springboks’ last outing, the third-place playoff match against Argentina at last year’s World Cup, they boasted one of the most experienced Test teams of all time.
South Africa had a whopping 835 caps in the starting lineup, while on the bench, there were a further 274 caps. The team featured stalwarts Victor Matfield and Schalk Burger, while the legendary Bryan Habana was on the wing.
But none of them will be on the park when the Boks take the field in today’s Test match against Ireland for Allister Coetzee’s first time at the helm of the national team.
The Boks will have a combined total of 474 Test caps in the starting lineup, with only 51 caps on the bench. To put this in perspective, the pack who played against Argentina had more experience than this current crop of players.
But today is the start of a new era, which may have come a few years too late.
The Boks have needed some fresh blood to revitalise both the brand and their style of play
It’s time to look to the 2019 World Cup in Japan. And that journey starts this afternoon in the shadow of the iconic Table Mountain.
“It’s the start of a new journey, so we definitely want to set down a marker and standard for ourselves,” new Bok captain Adriaan Strauss said yesterday.
“Of course the result will always be important, but it’s more about the way we want to play and the way forward.”
If the way that the players have trained over the last few weeks is anything to go by, then we will see something different from the Boks over the coming months.
Coetzee has talked about expanding their game plan, and to not just rely on a good kicking game, physicality and passion in defence to win Test matches.
It’s all about the speed of thought and speed of action, executing under immense pressure.
The Lions have shown at Super Rugby level that South African sides can play an expansive game and do the basics properly, and win. So the Boks will try and emulate that.
“It’s all about decisionmaking, at this level that’s especially important. We need to give players options on the field, but there is also a structure in place for that,” Strauss said.
“We first have to make the right decisions at the right time, and play into space.
“We want to attack, but it needs to be based on good decision-making, while identifying where that space is.”
It’s going to be a special moment for Strauss today, who finally has a chance to make the hooker position his own after competing with Bismarck du Plessis the last few years.
Strauss, who is a naturalborn leader and has captained the Cheetahs and the Bulls, is normally very relaxed and his facial expressions rarely changes. But that could all change at 5pm.
“I’m feeling quite calm. I’ll prepare as if it were any other Test, but I think it’s going to be another tough one,” he said.
“With the amount of leaders in the squad, it’s helped quite a lot, I haven’t had to do that much differently.
“It’s just been about ensuring everyone is on the same page with all the calls and what we want to do, and I think we’re ready now.” SOUTH AFRICA: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira. Bench: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Rudy Paige 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Jesse Kriel. IRELAND: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best (captain) 1 Jack McGrath. Bench: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Finlay Bealham, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Kieran Marmion 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Craig Gilroy. Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France) Kickoff: 5pm. TV: SS1.