Matfield bemoans schedule

Wellington - Veteran Springbok lock Victor Matfield says southern hemisphere teams have suffered more from injuries than northern hemisphere sides at the Rugby World Cup because they had less recovery time before the tournament began.

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Matfield missed two of South Africa's four pool matches because of a hamstring strain he carried into the tournament and said the effects of Super Rugby and Tri-Nations seasons may be taking a toll on SANZAR teams.

Northern teams appear to be heading into this weekend's quarter-finals with fewer injury concerns than their southern rivals. For the south, New Zealand's loss of flyhalf Dan Carter and South Africa's of centre Frans Steyn have been particularly damaging blows.

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers, who has a reputation for being controversial, said the loss of Steyn was a greater blow to South Africa than the loss of Carter was to the All Blacks. South Africa loses Steyn's versatility and prodigious goalkicking but Carter's loss is probably deemed more severe by objective assessors.

"Yes, I think (Steyn's) much bigger," de Villiers said. "Coming into the World Cup he came as a fullback. We were forced to use him at center and there he showed us just what his value is as a player and as a key man. We're going to miss him definitely."

The defending champion Springboks take on Tri-Nations champion Australia in the quarter-finals.

Australia have been hit hard by injuries, losing wing Drew Mitchell and backrower Wycliff Palu for the remainder of the tournament after being forced to play pool matches without two of its most important players, flank David Pocock and Digby Ioane.

Pocock has now recovered from a back injury and Ioane is expected to be fit for Sunday's quarter-final against South Africa after being sidelined for most of the pool round with a broken thumb. The Wallabies were so thinly stretched for the last pool match against Russia that veteran backrower Radike Samo had to start on the wing, and the reserves bench contained two scrumhalves and two hookers.

The loss of Carter to a groin strain has damaged New Zealand public's faith in the All Blacks ability to win the World Cup for the first time in 24 years. At the same time, captain Richie McCaw remains under an injury shadow because of a foot injury which has troubled him for most of the year.

The Springboks have battled injuries throughout the tournament, to Matfield and his longtime locking partner Bakkies Botha, to wing Bryan Habana and flank Heinrich Brüssow, but the loss of Steyn is the most oppressive.

Matfield sees that injury catalogue as a legacy of the teams' heavy schedule immediately before the tournament began.

"We had a look at which teams got the injuries and it's quite a few of the SANZAR teams, so probably it helps quite a little bit for the northern hemisphere to have quite a bit of off time before this World Cup," he said. "But that's part of the World Cup. We have to deal with that. You have to adapt and that's how you get successful at the World Cup, you're able to adapt to whatever happens to you as a team.

"Again it's difficult to say. Maybe we've got more match time, maybe we're sharper but, again, on the other side we lose because the guys are tired from the long Super Rugby season."

The Super Rugby competition was expanded and lengthened by several weeks this season to include a 15th team, but the Tri-Nations tournament was reduced so that the countries that are ranked Nos 1-3 in world rugby only played each other home-and-away once leading into the World Cup.

Australia's injury problems have eased slightly as their quarter-final looms. Wallabies coaching co-ordinator David Nucifora told reporters on Monday that Ioane is set to return and no other injuries have flared.

"We're in pretty good shape, obviously other than the disappointment for Drew (Mitchell, hamstring)," he said. "Other than that we've come through the match (against Russia) pretty well and we've got the majority of our other players, bar (center) Rob Horne, available for selection this week.

"Ioane's available for selection at this point, yes. He's fine to go, he'll be training with us so I don't think there's any more boxes he has to tick. He'll be right." Kurtley Beale, Horne, Pat McCabe and Anthony Fainga'a weren't considered for the Russia match due to injuries.

Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards said his team was heading towards Saturday's quarter-final against Ireland with few injury concerns.

"I think we're looking pretty healthy, probably the healthiest we've been going into this week," he said. "It's very promising in that area.

"It's a nice change for us really because we had to come over here without quite a few of our star players so it makes a welcome change for us to be having a nice run with injuries.

"Over the last two or three years we've definitively had more than our fair share of injuries and it's probably come at the right time that we have a lot of guys available."

Edwards said injuries were an unavoidable feature of Test rugby.

"I think every team realises now that in such a collision-based sport you are going to pick up injuries," he said. "All coaches hope and pray that they are not going to get their star players injured, but percentages tell you you're going to lose a star or a key player or two along the way."