Barritt’s back home – but this time he’s playing for the enemy
JUST a couple of months ago, Brad Barritt was in Durban to be best man at his brother’s wedding, but this week he’s in his home town for an entirely different reason – to face his former countrymen in tomorrow’s rugby Test.
It was no surprise that the South African media at an England press briefing yesterday were quick to congregate around the Durban-born centre.
A product of the Sharks Academy, Barritt established himself as a regular in the Sharks’ Currie Cup and Super Rugby squads after his debut in 2006, but at the end of 2008, the Kearsney College old boy joined English club Saracens.
Barritt had no problem qualifying for England as his grandparents were born there, and he earned his first full international cap against Scotland earlier this year.
Going on to impress throughout England’s Six Nations campaign, the 25-year-old forms a formidable centre combination with Samoan-born Manu Tuilagi.
“I have great memories of Durban, although it does feel a bit strange to be a tourist here,” Barritt said at England’s base in uMhlanga Rocks.
“Normally I’d associate being here with staying at my parents’ or brother’s house, but I’m hugely honoured to be playing for England now. We are looking forward to testing ourselves against one of the best teams in the world and we will have to be up for the physical challenge against the Springboks.”
Seven players in the Boks’ match-day 22 were in the same team as Barritt when the Sharks won the 2008 Currie Cup final.
“It’s certainly going to be interesting playing against them,” he said. “I’ve chatted to a few of them during the week and they’re obviously looking forward to the series. In rugby these are the special moments when you play against and with guys, but ultimately the rugby camaraderie shines through. However, I think as soon as you step on to the field the friendships are put aside and it’s who you play for on the day that counts.”
In changes to England’s runon XV from their last Six Nations Test, flank Tom Johnson and prop Joe Marler will make their debuts, replacing Tom Croft and Alex Corbisiero respectively.
Among the backs, scrumhalf Ben Youngs takes over from Lee Dickson at scrumhalf, while Mike Brown’s inclusion at fullback sees Ben Foden move to the left wing and David Strettle drop out of the 22. It’s almost exactly eight months since the Springboks crashed out of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, and a new era begins tomorrow.
For the survivors of the Wellington heartbreak (nine players from that quarter-final have been included in tomorrow’s runon XV), it’s an opportunity to start afresh.
This will be the first Test in Durban between the Springboks and England. The Boks have won their last seven Tests against England, but coach Heyneke Meyer said that was irrelevant.
“We don’t really look at the stats. What I can say about England is that they showed a lot of mental toughness to successfully come through the Six Nations because, like us now, they also had a new coach and not a lot of time to prepare. They got stronger as the competition went on.
“To beat France away from home is not easy, and they won three away games in all, which takes a lot of character. They’ll be a confident team, so you can’t look at the past. They’ve played six games this year, but this will be our first.”
Earlier this week, Meyer was asked whether he believed this could be the start of a period where the Boks established their dominance in world rugby.
“Without sounding arrogant, if I didn’t believe this was ultimately possible I wouldn’t have taken the position,” he said.
“There are some really tough opponents out there. We’re a bit behind, because for example, other teams have had a settled coaching style for some time. There’s a lot of work to do, but I’m confident that we can build a team that can consistently be the best in the world.
“England pose a very big hur- dle first up, but we are up for the challenge. We know it will be a process, but I’ve got confidence in our team. We want to perform consistently well both at home and away, and a great start against England will help. After this series I’m sure I’ll know which players I can go forward with, and hopefully all the players will show that they want to be part of this new era.”
It’s a career-defining time for the three debutants in the starting line-up, Marcell Coetzee, Juandre Kruger and Eben Etzebeth, while Francois Hougaard has a chance to take ownership of the No 9 jersey, and Zane Kirchner will want to prove his critics wrong.
New captain Jean de Villiers faces a big challenge in terms of leadership and playing in a fairly unfamiliar position, then there are relative newcomers on the bench such as Adriaan Strauss, Coenie Oosthuizen and Keegan Daniel, who will hope to have the desired impact.
“Obviously there are some butterflies in the stomach, but like I said to the players, as long as they fly in the same direction I’ll be okay,” Meyer said.
“There are some nerves because it’s a huge responsibility, and we really want to start well against a quality side. I’m more excited than nervous, and I can’t wait to get going, but I’m not sure how well I’m going to sleep over the next few days. There’s great excitement among the players and we all just want to go out there and win for our country.”