Preview: South Africa v Australia
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:08
John Smit and Peter de Villiers talking tactics. (c) Gallo
The Wallabies and the Springboks have a choice of trophies this weekend - the Mandela Plate or the Wooden Spoon.
Being normal they would rather have the Mandela Plate in their cabinet and team photo than a wooden spoon.
After all it is a Test match, not match practice, not a trial match, not a convalescent home. So both coaches have honoured its status by picking their best available teams - serious teams who will want victory.
Both coaches would want victory because both coaches are under pressure to succeed. Regardless of how tough the competition is, the authorities want victory because the fans want victory or they park their interest elsewhere, and if they do that coffers do not fill as abundantly.
Both sets of players would want victory as both are suffering criticism in their own countries, the Springboks more so because there is greater interest in South Africa than in Australia and because they are playing at home and so are closer to their fans and their joy or dismay.
There is motivation and there is ability. Whose is more likely to triumph?
For the Wallabies there must be a worry that their golden start in Pretoria was turned, by reverse alchemy, to lead. They can hardly expect the reward of three tries and 21 points in 11 minutes to happen again. Yet there is also the confidence of knowing that the Springbok defence is not impregnable.
On the other hand, the Springboks must take heart from their comeback to victory, restricting the Wallabies to a miserable three points in the second half, three points in 54 minutes.
Both teams know they can win; it may just be that Springbok conviction is greater. After all, Tri-Nations apart, it has been a good year for South African rugby.
The Wallabies have bolstered their pack to an extent but not to the extent that they will outmuscle the Springboks. They certainly look stronger with bulky Stephen Moore at hooker, less friendly Mark Chisholm at lock and more enthusiastic with Ben McCalman at No.8.
Players to watch:
For South African: You would probably want to watch tall, elegant, effective Jaque Fourie at centre and revelation François Hougaard at scrumhalf who has made such a difference, again proof that your best player should play scrumhalf. In their pack the most obvious ones to watch are Victor Matfield whenever the Wallabies throw into a lineout and noble Juan Smith everywhere.
For Australia: You have three players with clever feet that are worth watching - Kurtley Beale whose magnificent run last Saturday was the highlight of the match, James O'Connor who is deceptively strong and Quade Cooper the magician. In their pack there is David Pocock who was subdued last weekend. They also have Drew Mitchell as part of a back three with the potential to cause havoc to the defence, certainly a more functional back three than South Africa's.
Head to Head: The obvious one amongst the threequarters is free-running Fourie against the committed tackling of bustling Adam Ashley-Cooper and there is the battle between the scrumhalves, world class Will Genia and novice Hougaard, which the novice won last weekend.
Recent results:
2010: South Africa won 44-31 at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2010: Australia won 30-13 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
2009: Australia won 21-6 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
2009: South Africa won 32-25 at Subiaco Oval, Perth
2009: South Africa won 29-17 at Newlands
2008: South Africa won 53-8 at Ellis Park, Johannesburg
2008: Australia won 27-15 at Kings Park Stadium, Durban
2008: Australia won 16-9 at Subiaco Oval, Perth
2007: Australia won 25-17 at Stadium Australia, Sydney
2007: South Africa won 22-19 at Newlands
rugby365.com Prediction: Last week we predicted victory for South Africa by 10 or more. The way they got on top with solid rugby as opposed to opportunism suggests that this week the Springboks should win by 15 or more.
The teams:
South Africa: 15 François Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 François Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Gio
Aplon.
Australia: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (captain), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benin Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Anthony Fainga'a.
Date: Saturday, September 4
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)
Venue: Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
Expected weather conditions: Clear with a high of 28°C, dropping to 2°C and a westerly of 25 km/dropping to 3 km/h - perfect weather for rugby, as one would expect in Bloemfontein in spring.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
By Paul Dobson
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