Os - Still the Boks' 'big daddy'
Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:32
Scrumming with the Boks: Gary Gold, Peter de Villiers and Os du Randt
Os du Randt was the 'father figure' of the Springbok team that won Tri-Nations and World Cup titles between 2004 and 2007. Now the 38-year-old front row master has extended that role with the 2010 national team.
Du Randt, who played 80 Tests for the Boks and also won a World Cup title in 1995 (to go with all his other accolades), this week rejoined the national team - as their scrum coach.
And as was the case in his playing days, both the players and coaching staff were full of praise for the legendary Bok's enormous contribution.
Bok captain John Smit, speaking ahead of Saturday's one-off Test against France, described Du Randt's arrival this week as an extension of his playing days.
"He is a huge asset," Smit said, adding that the Free State farmer knows him pretty well - considering they scrummed together in almost 50 Tests.
In fact Du Randt and Smit hold the top two positions on the all-time list for most Tests as a front row combination - having played in 14 internationals with Eddie Andrews and 12 with CJ van der Linde.
"He [Du Randt] probably knows my strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else," Smit said, "he knows what to look out for.
"More so than just me, he'll be able to help the likes of Gurthrö [Steenkamp] on the loosehead [side of the scrum], who is having a massive season and has made a huge improvement in his scrummaging [this year]."
Smit said getting back a player of Du Randt's standing, who understands the Boks ethos, makes his return even more valuable.
"When we got Percy [Montgomery, as kicking coach], he knew the ins and outs of how the team works - after the 102 Test he played. He understands the ethos of Bok rugby.
"Os came in as a father figure in 2004 [after serious knee injuries almost ended his career], so to have him as an extension of his playing days can only strengthen us."
Bok coach Peter de Villiers also spoke of the "impact" Du Randt had made since his arrival in camp this week.
"I think everyone could see [at practice on Tuesday] that Os made a difference, especially at a mental level," De Villiers said.
"You can't teach John [Smit] anything about scrumming at this level, but you can manage him by perhaps stimulating thought. If we can succeed in that, we would already have achieved something. I hope Os can help take us to the next level this year."
Smit is confident that the Boks will be able to produce a far more commanding scrumming performance, against the French at Newlands, after a fairly disjointed effort against Wales in Cardiff last weekend.
"Certainly [last] Saturday's experience and run-out would have helped," Smit said of the Boks' first Test of the year.
"We made life difficult for ourselves [by] jumping the gun [with an early engagement against Wales in Cardiff] and when you do that two or three times in the beginning, it is difficult to win the ref over again.
"We managed to sort things out towards the end of the game.
"However, it is something we worked pretty hard with Os and we need to be on the button on Saturday, as we are up against a pretty big tight five and a very effective tight five."
By Jan de Koning