It’s a tough conference to call – Naas
ble inclusion in this year’s Springbok squad. And places are certainly up for grabs considering so many seasoned men have moved abroad or decided to call it a day.
Meyer has said he will pick the best men for the Bok team, whether they’re favoured at their franchises or not, so there’s plenty at stake for everyone who pulls on a Super Rugby jumper this year.
In Cape Town, Erasmus and key back and defensive organiser Jaque Fourie have left, while in Pretoria Meyer soon followed Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw and Fourie du Preez out the door – leaving the franchise a little thin in the experience department. These two teams are thus probably the least settled of the five South African sides, but they will draw on their depth and history to keep them pushing forward.
The Sharks are fairly settled, even without John Smit, while the Cheetahs could again find the going tough if they suffer injuries to key men, such as flanker Heinrich Brussow and young No 10 Johan Goosen.
The most significant change from a team perspective has come in Johannesburg where the Lions are now all of a sudden being taken a little more seriously. Not only have coach John Mitchell and captain Joshua Strauss talked up their chances, but legendary former Bok Naas Botha, too. In fact, the now TVanalyst believes the South African Conference can be won by any of the five local teams.
“If you look at the Australia and New Zealand conferences, two or three teams will be in contention ... in South Africa all five have a chance,” said Botha.
“Our conference is a little more open than those and a team like the Lions can now show they can compete at a higher level as well.”
Botha believes the Australian Conference will be won by either the Waratahs or Reds, while he’s predicting a good run by the Blues of the New Zealand teams.
“It’s difficult to know exactly what is going on abroad and you can’t read too much into pre-season games, but I think we’ve all got a fair idea about the overseas teams and who will make it and who won’t.
“In South Africa, the Lions won the Currie Cup and are on the up, the Cheetahs are always tough to beat in Bloemfontein and we know what we have in the Stormers and Sharks. A lot of people wrote off the Bulls, but the way they smashed the Cheetahs (39-16) a few weeks ago would have changed a few perceptions. The Bulls will again be serious contenders. “It’s a tough conference to call.” The key to winning your local conference and thus featuring well on the overall log is winning away from home, says Botha.
“Winning your home games is non-negotiable and with the derby element we’re going to see some big match-ups. The crucial thing for me is how the teams go away from home ... that’s the key. And the positive thing is the South African sides have shown recently they can pick up points on the road.”
It’s not only Botha who feels it’s “anyone’s competition”, but Sharks boss John Plumtree, too. He told the Sharks website this week: “I think it’s going to be quite close, I don’t think there is a stand-out South African side, they’re all going to be competitive. There are no easy points against SA sides, which hasn’t always been the case, so to win the conference becomes really tight, there are no easy points anywhere.”
So what is Botha looking forward to most in the new Super Rugby competition? “I’d like to see an improvement in our quality of play ... doing the basics right.”
The competition starts on Friday