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Stephen Nell
East London – John Smit is set to lead the Springboks again in Saturday’s second Test against Italy at the Buffalo City Stadium, while Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger, Jaque Fourie, Danie Rossouw and Wynand Olivier have all rejoined the squad.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers already indicated on Saturday night that he planned to rest Victor Matfield this week.
That obviously means that someone else has to captain the side and provide leadership at the lineouts this week. Those responsibilities should go to Smit and Bekker respectively.
Smit is the regular captain in any event and missed the weekend’s 29-13 win in Witbank with a hamstring injury, while Bekker struggled with a back injury and also had personal matters to deal with.
Burger could not play on Saturday because of an ankle injury, while Fourie, Rossouw and Olivier were given a rest.
Flip van der Merwe, Alistair Hargreaves and Bandise Maku were also not on the flight to East London, suggesting they won’t be involved on Saturday.
Chiliboy Ralepelle, who followed up his excellent second half against France with a solid performance against Italy, may well make room for Smit in the starting line-up.
While the Boks are big supporters of Bafana Bafana, their standards as a team are higher than that of their footballing counterparts and there is unhappiness at the lack of precision in their game in Saturday’s victory.
“Considering the standard these players set, we have reason to be disappointed,” said De Villiers.
“Our scrums and lineouts were good, but we were let down by our skills. The guys dropped some balls and we need to be accurate to get our game going.
“I’m disappointed with the individual mistakes. If we make silly errors like that, we have to be introspective about it.”
While the Boks and their supporters expect a much better effort in East London, it’s probably also not easy to be 100% motivated against opponents they know they can beat without getting out of third gear.
It’s nevertheless a chance for the squad selected this week to show what they’re made of before De Villiers picks a squad of 26 for South Africa’s Tri-Nations tour.
It will be interesting to see whether Butch James get another chance – possibly at flyhalf – to give a reminder of what he’s capable of.
The Italians will also make numerous changes this week.
“There will be six changes among the forwards and three or four at the back. It’s such an honour and privilege to play against South Africa that we want to give every player on tour the opportunity,” said Italy coach Nick Mallett.
East London – John Smit is set to lead the Springboks again in Saturday’s second Test against Italy at the Buffalo City Stadium, while Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger, Jaque Fourie, Danie Rossouw and Wynand Olivier have all rejoined the squad.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers already indicated on Saturday night that he planned to rest Victor Matfield this week.
That obviously means that someone else has to captain the side and provide leadership at the lineouts this week. Those responsibilities should go to Smit and Bekker respectively.
Smit is the regular captain in any event and missed the weekend’s 29-13 win in Witbank with a hamstring injury, while Bekker struggled with a back injury and also had personal matters to deal with.
Burger could not play on Saturday because of an ankle injury, while Fourie, Rossouw and Olivier were given a rest.
Flip van der Merwe, Alistair Hargreaves and Bandise Maku were also not on the flight to East London, suggesting they won’t be involved on Saturday.
Chiliboy Ralepelle, who followed up his excellent second half against France with a solid performance against Italy, may well make room for Smit in the starting line-up.
While the Boks are big supporters of Bafana Bafana, their standards as a team are higher than that of their footballing counterparts and there is unhappiness at the lack of precision in their game in Saturday’s victory.
“Considering the standard these players set, we have reason to be disappointed,” said De Villiers.
“Our scrums and lineouts were good, but we were let down by our skills. The guys dropped some balls and we need to be accurate to get our game going.
“I’m disappointed with the individual mistakes. If we make silly errors like that, we have to be introspective about it.”
While the Boks and their supporters expect a much better effort in East London, it’s probably also not easy to be 100% motivated against opponents they know they can beat without getting out of third gear.
It’s nevertheless a chance for the squad selected this week to show what they’re made of before De Villiers picks a squad of 26 for South Africa’s Tri-Nations tour.
It will be interesting to see whether Butch James get another chance – possibly at flyhalf – to give a reminder of what he’s capable of.
The Italians will also make numerous changes this week.
“There will be six changes among the forwards and three or four at the back. It’s such an honour and privilege to play against South Africa that we want to give every player on tour the opportunity,” said Italy coach Nick Mallett.
