Test of character for Pollard
BRISBANE: Now that the charade that was the warm-up match against the makeshift World XV is behind us, the Boks’preparations for the Rugby World Cup begin in earnest tomorrow when they tackle an ominously dangerous Wallabies team at the Suncorp.
It is a match the Boks will probably lose but for coach Heyneke Meyer so much of the game is about the bigger picture of the World Cup and the performances of key individuals, such as flyhalf Handré Pollard, and the testing of newcomers in the white-hot heat of Test rugby at its toughest.
The Boks have won just four times in Australia since the professional rugby era dawned in 1996, three of those wins being in Perth, a home from home for the Boks given the huge ex-pat community and the relatively short travel time to Perth – it takes another six hours to fly on to Brisbane or Sydney.
They won in Brisbane two years ago to buck a trend of losing in Queensland that goes back to the 70s, but they will be hard pressed to replicate that famous win against a fired-up local team that closely resembles the side coach Michael Cheika will pick for the World Cup, while his opposite number, Heyneke Meyer, has a host of first-choice players doing rehab in South Africa.
Before the Super Rugby kicked off this year, Meyer would have had this team in mind for a World Cup final: Willie le Roux, JP Pietersen, Jaque Fourie, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana, Handré Pollard, Fourie du Preez; Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, Francois Louw, Victor Matfield, Eben Etzebeth, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira.
Half of that lot are still making their way to full fitness after injury, while others such as Pieter-Steph du Toit and Francois Steyn are likewise in a race against time for the big September kick-off in England. There are others, such as props Wallabies: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 James Slipper.
16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 James Horwill, 20 David Pocock, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Drew Mitchell. Springboks 15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Beast Mtawarira. 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Oupa Mohoje, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Lwazi Mvovo. Du Plessis and Mtawarira that are feeling the heat from inform players in Frans Malherbe and Heinke van der Merwe, who will get their chance off the bench tomorrow.
Meyer desperately needs his back-up players to perform tomorrow as well as some front-line stars that are not showing the form the coach would have hoped.
Notably, Meyer needs Pollard to step up his game. The young Bull was off key at Newlands last week, missing four kicks at goal and kicking inaccurately out of hand. Tomorrow he faces a major test of character, and Meyer will also get a better idea of the capabilities at the highest level of centres Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel.
The experiment of moving veteran Schalk Burger to No 8 will also be closely scrutinised as Meyer examines his diminishing options in the position given that Vermuelen will take contact for the first time in the Group games at the World Cup and Alberts is notoriously injury prone.
But it is hardly doom and gloom. Some of the newcomers might have the games of their lives and Meyer will sleep a lot better on the flight home on Sunday night in the knowledge that his options for the Word Cup have increased. There is a bigger picture at stake in the Rugby Championship this year.
This is a match in which veterans such a Burger, Louw, Victor Matfield and Bismarck du Plessis have to lead the way up front and stem the flow of fast ball to the lethal Wallabies backs. Du Plessis, the quintessential face of a belligerent Springbok forward, has a major role to play and needs to be at his competitive best in what will be a fierce battle with opposite number Stephen Moore, the captain of the home side.
Meyer’s Australian counter- part, Michael Cheika, will also have his microscope out. He has recalled halfback pairing Will Genia and Quade Cooper, to see if they can rejuvenate their once irresistible combination. They have not played together at Test level for 20 months. In giving the pair a chance on their home ground, Cheika is resting “first choice” duo Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley.
Likewise, all eyes will be 32-year-old Matt Giteau, who won 92 caps for his country before moving to France four years ago, and has now been recalled with a view to the World Cup.