Springboks hopes rest on Coetzee
Pressure mounting on SA ahead of Wales clash
OPENSIDE flank Marcell Coetzee will come up against his toughest adversary on tour, Sam Warburton, when the Springboks meet Wales tomorrow and the outcome of that battle could decide the contest.
The breakdown has been an erratic area for the Springboks on their current northern hemisphere tour and in tomorrow’s season-ending clash against Wales at the Millennium Stadium, it’ll be under more pressure than ever.
Besides Warburton’s menacing presence at every other ruck, the bruising carrying of mighty centre Jamie Roberts will ensure that Wales take momentum into collisions, which could give them valuable front-foot ball.
Coetzee will have to be quick and accurate in countering Warburton on the deck. Of course, it requires team effort and in No 8 Duane Vermeulen, hooker Bismarck du Plessis and tighthead Coenie Oosthuizen, the Boks have real breakdown presence.
The Boks struggled at the breakdown against Ireland and went on to lose 29-15.
Their intensity was off that day but a week later against England they were half-a-metre quicker and as a result dominated the breakdown on their way to a 31-28 win.
Last week against Italy in Padova, the Azzuri made it difficult for them at the breakdown as the Boks didn’t send big numbers into the malaise. After halftime they added one or two cleaners and gained momentum.
“It’s a different enemy this week because Wales are excellent at that area of the game, especially Sam Warburton,” Coetzee said.
“Richie Gray has been doing a lot of analysis and we have put in a lot of hard work this week to ensure that we get quick ball. That’s the key. Of course we also want to stop them from getting quick ball too.
“We went back to the drawing board after the Italian game and have been hard on our analysis of where it went wrong.
“It’s about intensity and accuracy and we have to play for a full 80-90 minutes.”
Away from the breakdown the Bok setpiece will have to dominate and keep Wales on the back foot. The last thing the Springboks want is Roberts, centre partner Jonathan Davies and wing Alex Cuthbert all running on to front-foot ball.
The Bok lineout, which misfired against Italy with three missed throws, has been solid all season prior to that. But winning their own ball has not been an issue for the Boks; picking off opposition ball hasn’t been that easy.
But Wales are down to second choice hooker Scott Baldwin with Richard Hibbard unavailable due to the match falling outside the Test window.
Baldwin struggled with his throwing against the All Blacks last week in the latter stages as New Zealand scored three late tries to win 38-16.
Wales only beaten the Boks once – at the opening of the Millennium Stadium in 1999 – while losing 27 of their 29 previous encounters.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 James King, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Scott Williams.
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Damian de Allende.