Meyer selects same starting 15
Sole change to side that beat Wallabies is Oosthuizen’s inclusion on bench
COACH Heyneke Meyer yesterday pinned his hopes of the Springboks stretching their unbeaten run at home to six matches — when they face the All Blacks in their final Rugby Championship clash on Saturday — on the players who smashed Australia 31-8 last week.
First-choice fullback Zane Kirchner has recovered from the bruised hip bone he suffered last week, so Meyer could select the same starting 15, with the only change on the bench being the inclusion of hard-working prop Coenie Oosthuizen at the expense of Pat Cilliers.
Oosthuizen was withdrawn from the squad to face Australia last week after suffering from stiffness in his neck, but he was cleared to play on Tuesday after consulting a neurosurgeon in Durban.
Flyhalf Johan Goosen retained his place in the starting team despite sitting out of training on Monday and Tuesday with the heel injury that has been troubling him since last week. The player had his first goal-kicking session yesterday afternoon, and should Meyer decide that he is not fit to kick for posts, scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar will take over those duties.
Meyer was pleased to welcome back Oosthuizen yesterday, although he said they would continue to monitor the player, who had had surgery to his neck in June.
“He only recently got back from an injury so he hasn’t played for quite some time, but he is a superb athlete and I think he could become one of the greatest players of all time.
“I said from day one that rugby is a game at the end of the day, so we will not gamble with players, and we will continue to monitor him. But it is great that he has been cleared. He has been with us from the beginning of the season, so he knows what to expect, and he is a great impact player. He also did well in the scrummaging session (yesterday) so I don’t think it will be a problem.”
Meyer reiterated the need for the Boks to execute their game plan and the basics of the game accurately and said they had to take a big step forward in terms of their goal-kicking.
But with Pienaar aware that he will kick for posts if Goosen battles and centre Jaco Taute, back-up flyhalf Elton Jantjies and versatile back Pat Lambie all offering goal-kicking options in the match 22, he was positive the kicking would improve.
“It was quite difficult for Ruan (last week) because he didn’t expect Johan to be injured, and if you call on a guy suddenly who is not mentally prepared it is tough,” said Meyer.
“So hopefully Johan will be fine, but Ruan knows now that if Johan can’t kick he will take over the duties and Jaco Taute is also an option. With Frans Steyn injured and Morné (Steyn) also out we have lost two kickers … but we have options.
“The important thing is to get the right guy on the field and to kick under pressure.”
Meyer added: “The All Blacks are a quality outfit with great players and if you want to beat them you have to kick at an 80% success rate. I know for a fact that you are not going to beat them by outscoring them with tries only … if we had kicked better (this year) we could have won six or seven Tests.”