Lions in SA
Monty's first day on the job
2009-05-25 22:23
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Percy Montgomery changes roles (Gallo)
Pieter Jordaan
Pretoria – The Boks have not found themselves with a fullback predicament, as might have been anticipated - one of the reasons being the presence of Percy Montgomery.
The legendary former Springbok fullback, with 102 Test caps to his name, started his new role as the Boks’ kicking coach at the University of Pretoria.
Montgomery described his first day as quite a challenge: "When we were warming up, I just wanted to get out there on the field with them," he said.
Two Sharks players, JP Pietersen and Adi Jacobs, were not on the field for training. Pietersen is still recovering from a shoulder injury sustained in the Super 14 match against the Bulls while Jacobs is battling the flu.
Odwa Ndungane, who's eyes were fixed on the high balls being launched by Bok kickers under Montgomery’s watchful eye, could be the man to shoulder the responsibilities at fullback against the Namibians. But the fact that two wings now suddenly have to play fullback in a Bok fifteen as preparation for a series against the British Lions, is not something Montgomery is too worried about.
”Due to injuries, we do have a small deficit. They (Pietersen and Ndungane) just need to adjust. The starting team has not been chosen yet, but JP is good under a high ball. And Odwa too,” said Montgomery after the practice session.
Pietersen’s injuries shouldn’t keep him off the playing field. Other candidates for the Bok fullback position are Zane Kirchner, who’s still involved in the Bulls’ Super 14 final against the Chiefs, the injured Frans Steyn, and Jaque Fourie, who is getting married this weekend.
Later this week Montgomery will be focusing on place kicking, which should serve Peter Grant and Earl Rose well when they play the Namibian team.
Other injured players in the Bok training squad such as Schalk Burger (calf), Jean de Villiers (groin) and Andries Bekker (rib) practiced separately from the others, but didn’t show any discomfort. Their progress will be monitored throughout the week.
In the meantime, the match promotor for Friday’s match, Willem Strauss, has confirmed that South African referee, Mark Lawrence, will be taking control of the whistle.