Guile is the key – Duane
IT WAS perhaps reassuring to hear one of the most bruising of the Springbok forwards suggesting that guile, rather than brawn is going to be key to beating the All Blacks in Saturday’s World Cup semi-final.
Duane Vermeulen is no shrinking violet when it comes to hurling his body at men in black, but he says Bok teams of old got carried away with physicality, and there is a need to be shrewder in the Boks’ approach against a team that often outfoxes the Boks, having matched them physically.
“The physical battle is part of it, but I don’t think it’s the major part,” the No 8 said. “We’ve got to go out and play 80 to 90 minutes of rugby in a total Springbok performance, and there are a lot of aspects to that.
“I mean how much more physical can we be after those tough games against Samoa, Scotland and Wales?” Vermeulen asked. “Yes there will be a natural lift in intensity because of the occasion and nature of the opposition, but I maintain that this week is mostly about mental preparation. The guys have already shown that they are prepared to run through brick walls for their country and now we must make sure that everyone of us believes that we can win this thing.”
The 2014 SA Player of the Year said that New Zealand and South African had been playing each other twice a year for so long that there were few surprises that either side could be holding up their sleeves.
“The coaches have already sorted out the way they want to attack and defend and what plays they want,” he said. “So as a player it definitely comes down now to mental preparation, how you get yourself ready for Saturday.”
The Boks have a resident sports psychologist, Dr Pieter Kruger, whose business it is to read the body language of the players, on and off the field.
“If he suspects you are not 100percent he will sit down with you and put you in the right direction,” Vermeulen said. “It is about making sure that every individual is perfectly prepared to play his part when needed.”
Importantly, Dr Kruger has been working with the Boks regarding a period of the game where they have often been found wanting this year – the third quarter of the match, after having built up a good half-time lead in most of their matches, only to enter a flat spot.
“It is a period of the game where we struggle to get points while the opposition have often fought back in that period,” he said. “Dr Kruger spoke about the mind-shift required to keep on scoring points, even if they are not tries, in an inevitable period in every game against top opposition when you will be under the cosh for a while.
“We have to accept that we cannot dominate a top side for 80 minutes, they will also have their period of ascendancy, but during that time you have to find ways to keep the scoreboard ticking, because it is scoreboard pressure that has seen us implode in the final quarters.”