Blacks Dismiss Wallabies Tandem Tearaway
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SPORTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 2015 Boks face massive Test against Pumas — Meyer JOHANNESBURG: A Rugby Championship campaign that has gone pear-shaped for South Africa means great significance is being attached to the final-round clash with Argentina in Durban today. “This will be a massive Test for us,” admitted Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer as he looked ahead to a showdown that will decide who finishes bottom of the standings. Australia and title-holders New Zealand have nine points each ahead of a Sydney title decider early today, South Africa a paltry two from losing bonus points and Argentina none. The 2015 Springboks have become the team that cannot put a game to bed, conceding late tries in Brisbane and Johannesburg to fail against the Wallabies and All Blacks. “We will never accept that we lost our last two Tests,” stresses 47-year-old Meyer, who has won 26 Tests, lost 11 and drawn two since taking charge of the green and gold three seasons ago. “On both occasions we were in positions to win and let them slip.” Peter de Villiers, who was succeeded as South Africa coach by Meyer, blames overweight Springboks for the fade-outs. “We need to address the fighting-fit weight of the players so that they can last for 80 minutes,” he says. “The players are carry- ing excess unnatural weight which is why we cannot maintain intensity for full matches. “I believe we bulk up our Springboks instead of making them match-fit.” Although the Springboks have been much more impressive than fellow strugglers the Pumas in the first two Championship rounds, Meyer is wary of the Argentines. This could partly be due to the closeness of the games last year with the Springboks win- ning only 13-6 at home in monsoon-like conditions and scraping a fortunate 33-31 away victory. “It is going to be tough because the Pumas are coming for us, as they have done during the past three seasons,” conceded Meyer. “This is going to be a great challenge for the Springboks and I cannot wait for the kick-off.” After losing both Tests this season and four of the last six, Meyer shelved reported plans to start with little-used utility back Patrick Lambie and fly-half Morne Steyn, and almost-fit scrum-half Fourie du Preez. Of the three starting line-up changes to the side beaten 27- Michael Hooper 20 by New Zealand, two were forced with tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis and flanker Francois Louw injured. South African find-of-the-season Jesse Kriel moves from out- All Blacks dismiss Wallabies side centre to the right wing to accommodate skipper Jean de Villiers, back in the starting line-up nine months after reconstruc- tive knee surgery. The reshuffle means winger Cornal Hendricks tandem tearaway preparation drops out of the matchday 23, and in the pack Vincent Koch comes in for Du Plessis and Marcell Coetzee replaces Louw. SYDNEY: The All Blacks upped the psychological pressure change a lot how we operate,” said McCaw who will have Argentina coach Daniel Hourcade has reacted to a generally on the Wallabies yesterday ahead of their Rugby Jerome Kaino and Kieran Read for support. poor performance when losing 34-9 at home against Australia Championship decider, warning the tandem attack of “I think you realise the breakdown is an area that’s hotly by making 11 changes, one injury-enforced. Michael Hooper and David Pocock could backfire. The bal- contested, whether there’s one or two (of them). “Everyone Veteran play-anywhere back Juan Martin Hernandez makes ance of the Australian side raised a few eyebrows in the has an impact there these days, but those two are certainly his season debut in place of fly-half Nicolas Sanchez, the leading New Zealand camp but not the experiment of putting tear- pretty accurate at that.” 2014 Championship points scorer but an underperformer this aways Hooper and Pocock on the park at the same time to New Zealand coach Steve Hansen said the positive for season. Only two Pumas, skipper and hooker Agustin Creevy and loosehead prop Marcos Ayerza, have been chosen to start gang up on All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw. the All Blacks in the Hooper-Pocock double act was that it all three Championship Tests. It simply opened up other areas to exploit, All Blacks exposed weakness in other areas. Hourcade is a fan of the Springboks: “They are a great team coach Steve Hansen said.At stake in the clash at Sydney’s Of particular interest to the All Blacks was the inclusion who could have won the matches they lost against Australia and ANZ Stadium on Saturday is not just the Rugby of the mobile Dean Mumm at lock in the Wallabies line-up New Zealand. “They play a fast-tempo game and put a lot of Championship crown, which the All Blacks have won for ahead of the more physical Will Skelton, and the benching emphasis on physical contact, so our tackling needs to improve the past three years, but also the chance to strike a mental of centre Matt Toomua. from the last two games.” blow ahead of the World Cup which starts in England next “We’ve just got to make sure we take advantage of The odds lean heavily toward a Springboks victory as they month. those weaknesses and make sure that we don’t allow them have won all eight previous Tests against the Pumas in the New Zealand and Australia go into the final-round to have a field day at the breakdown,” Hansen said. republic. —AFP match as the only unbeaten teams following wins over Away from the pressure cooker breakdown, the focus South Africa and Argentina. will be on how Matt Giteau, who comes in for Toomua, and The Hooper-Pocock double act has been the main talk- fly-half Bernard Foley are able to protect the inside channel. ing point in the build-up, with Wallabies coach Michael All Blacks pivot Dan Carter is under orders to test the Cheika saying both players are in such commanding form defences with Sonny Bill Williams outside him and heading he had no choice but to pair them up for the first time. back to his best with his telling off-loads. Pocock will be at number eight with Hooper wearing If the Wallabies defensive line holds it brings the ball- the number seven jersey and the focus will be on the stealing skills of Hooper and Pocock into play, giving them breakdown where the All Blacks were exposed two weeks the chance to counter with the elusive skills of Israel Folau ago by South Africa who also fielded two specialist open- and Adam Ashley-Cooper. side flankers. Equally, any slip up by the Wallabies, who will not have The 34-year-old McCaw has ruled the collision area for the muscle of the uncompromising Skelton, will give the much of past decade and declared himself unfazed by the All Blacks room to unleash their back three of debutant Wallabies’ challenge. Nehe Milner-Skudder, Julian Savea and Ben Smith. Milner- “Having both out on the field makes sense from their Skudder, with his elusive running skills, was one of the point of view with the way they are playing, so from my most talked about players in Super Rugby this year while point of view I kind of expected it, so it doesn’t really Savea has scored 30 tries in 33 Tests. —AFP Jannie du Plessis.