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Bok centres ready to rumble

JJ Harmse

Pretoria – "No, it's not a risk to run out with two centres that recently served suspensions for spear tackles. It won't happen again."

That was the assurance provided by Jaque Fourie ahead of Saturday's rugby Test against the Wallabies.

He and Jean de Villiers will be back together in the Springbok midfield for the first time in a year.

Fourie just spent four weeks on the sidelines because of a spear tackle against Australia in Brisbane. His suspension came seven days after De Villiers had been served with a two-week ban for a similar offence in Wellington.

"We spoke about it and will also remind one another during the game to complete the tackles. We both made the mistake of wanting to go upwards with the opponent too quickly. It happens in the blink of an eye, but I don't think we will make the same mistakes again," said Fourie.

He and De Villiers will play together as centre-pairing for the 23rd time – a Bok record.

Fourie is playing his 61st Test and De Villiers his 62nd, it is Fourie's 49th Test at centre and De Villiers's 47th.

"It's great to have him back because we know one another so well. We hardly have to communicate because the one knows what the other is going to do," said Fourie.

The powerful ball-carrier expects basic skills to be crucial in the Test.

“We have to do the basics well. Centres have to get over the advantage line and that will be our primary task.

“After that it’s important to ensure that we keep possession and that someone like (David) Pocock does not come in and slow down or steal our ball.”

They also cannot allow the Aussies to penetrate their defence with trickery at the back.

“We have to execute our direct tackles,” said Fourie, who scored his 29th Test try in Brisbane.

There are several gamebreakers in the Springbok side, but he believes the players should concentrate on their primary tasks first.

“We probably have seven or eight players who can make a difference. But it won’t help if each one of us waits for someone else to do it. Those opportunities will present themselves if all of us do the right things.”

If that does not happen, the Boks will slip into the downward spiral of five consecutive defeats.

Fourie was there in 2006 and does not want to experience something similar again.
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