Cordingley: 'Du Preez is like Joost'
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:15
Having overcome a bout of flu this week, Sam Cordingley will start at No.9 for the Wallabies when they take on the Boks on Saturday - a team he feels is led at the front by his opposite number.
The Queensland Reds scrumhalf was the preferred choice for Australian coach Robbie Deans for the Tri-Nations duel in Durban, having left first-choice scrumhalf Luke Burgess out of the touring party due to a menacing knee injury.
Cordingley, like the rest of the Wallabies' this week, has high hopes of a combative Australian performance at Absa Park, though knows he in particular will be up against some stiff competition.
"If you look back at the World Cup last year, I thought he [Fourie du Preez] was the player of the tournament. The way he led the Springboks around was fantastic," Cordingley told a media gathering on Thursday.
"I know he's coming back from injury, but he's one of those players you really have to watch on the field.
"I've said before, Springbok scrumhalves like Joost van der Westhuizen and Fourie [du Preez] are the sort of players that, when they play well, the team plays well.
"He doesn't have to rely on his forwards to play well, he turns his forwards around and makes sure they play well.
"There's not many flaws to his game," he added.
Considering the relative inexperience within this Wallaby squad, the 32-year-old Cordingley will be the oldest Aussie on the park come Saturday.
His age however certainly didn't seem to be a factor for the selectors, nor the fact that he's heading overseas at the end of the year to rejoin his former French club, Grenoble.
"I said to the Australian press earlier in the year that I was a little bit surprised to be part of the squad, given that I'm heading overseas, my age, a couple of those factors." said Cordingley.
"It's been great to be involved again. The opportunity has presented itself to start, and I'm really looking forward to it."
One would think with a coaching record like Robbie Deans, any player selected under his wing has been chosen on merit, and afforded the opportunity to bring their own unique edge to the game - which were exactly Cordingley's sentiments.
"One of the biggest areas I've seen [working with Deans] is the amount of competitive energy at training, which goes a long way to transferring onto the field.
"I think he leaves a lot to the players. He expects a lot from the players on their own accountability, which adds to their own performance," he added.
By Nick Pawson
