White’s centre headache
19 Jun 2006
The injury to Andre Snyman has re-opened the door for De Wet Barry, who re-joins the Springbok squad in Cape Town today.
Snyman’s wrist is not broken as some reports speculated and he may be available to play against France at the weekend, but nevertheless white is taking no chances and has re-called his Tri-Nations-winning inside centre.
The Springboks take on the French in a once-off Test at Newlands in Cape Town and coach Jake White will be relieved after suffering a string of midfield injury woes recently.
Snyman’s X-rays revealed just soft tissue bruising and no break on his right wrist, but Barry has responded to the call and will be available if needed at the weekend.
White’s centre headache began when Marius Joubert was ruled out even before the camp in Bloemfontein. This was followed by Jean de Villiers fracturing ribs in the first Test win over Scotland in Durban.
De Villiers’ partner in midfield – Jaque Fourie – then also suffered rib damage in a training ground accident last week.
De Villiers is only expected back against Australia in the Boks’ first Tri-Nations match in Brisbane on 15 July at the earliest. Fourie though may be ready for the French, which would then allow White to go with the combination he initially wanted for Port Elizabeth – Wynand Olivier at inside and Fourie at outside.
Fourie will be assessed later this week, but the player himself has indicated he is ready to resume his place in the starting line-up.
Olivier may be rewarded for his solid start at Test level with another start against France, but White may be reluctant to give the youngster the No 12 jersey and may opt for the experience of Barry who has 38 Tests under his belt.
Another option White is keen to see in action is putting Bryan Habana at outside centre – he played there after Snyman was substituted against Scotland. If he tries that then either Barry or Olivier could partner him.
He will give it plenty of thought as the French midfield pair of Jannick Jauzion and Damien Traille – who will likely oppose the Boks on Saturday – is regarded by many pundits as the best centre combination in world rugby.
By Andrew Hollely
42 Comments
19 Jun 2006, 06:34 am
How about bringing in Julies Jake? after all he “has never let the boks down”
19 Jun 2006, 06:58 am
Now it’s clear. All brawn no BRAIN! That is the reason for the many injuries. Our players play hard…. too hard. Battering ram rugby is idiotic and will produce more and more injuries.
Have you ever listened how the Aus/NZ commentators ridicule our style of rugby? How they criticize our aimless kicking game? Forwards/centers etc plowing into a wall of defense tiring/hurting themselves?
We will always ALMOST make it with brawn. Same as the Bulls; never good enough to win…. or rather – Too dumb to win.
19 Jun 2006, 06:59 am
His never let the boks down because he has never started against any of the big teams. The biggest matches he has being involved in was off the bench, both times against the Aussies. Julies is reliable with ball in hand, and ok on defense. But, Barry is better on defense and I feel Olivier would offer more going forward.
19 Jun 2006, 07:01 am
I’d welcome the one dimensional De Wet anytime over Snyman. At least you know what you are getting from De Wet. He can run straight and at least he can catch. Not to mention his strong defense…
19 Jun 2006, 07:03 am
rathbone is a thug and deserves to taken out i think all his records here in sa ruygby should be removed and we shoiuld say he never captained them and was never in the sharks or under 21 bok team he does nothing postive for south afric but just fight with the players and say how is inst a sout hafrica. he could help with charity and doing good cept he says he doent remembber out anthem booooooo rathbone and vikerman and rawlinson
19 Jun 2006, 07:03 am
One of the main issues the Boks and the All Blacks have in common… centre:
I thought Laulala was awefull against the Irish, his defence was OK (but no Tana at turning over the ball!) but his attack was non existant. He seemed really lacking confidance
Nonu is great with Umanga to hold his hand (he played great when Tana was in the H’canes) but he has yet to perform in a game without Tana beside him- Great linebreaker, would be ideal off the bench once a game has loosened up
Conrad Smith has finally started training again, he’s got it all I reckon
19 Jun 2006, 07:11 am
pity about smith getting injured.class player that.i would go sofar as to mention him in the same breath as my name.
19 Jun 2006, 07:50 am
bring back de wet barry?????!!!!! the entire humanity might as well go back to the dinosaur era. WTF, LOL!!!!! why not try habana there, as he can definitely break the advantage line? there is no way de wet or marius joubert deserve to play based on their recent form. white can only play them based on their past reputation. its like one step forward, and two steps back.
19 Jun 2006, 08:00 am
Habana at centre?
Go on, I dare you
Nonu would love that!
19 Jun 2006, 08:10 am
Funny that poor Wayne Julies was called up to cover and now Jake is looking at De Wet Barry. It makes a mockery of selection and raises that nasty “QUOTA” question again.If Wayne,an inside centre like De Wet,was called up why now look to De Wet,surely Wayne was good enough to get the initial call he must be good enough play???
Jake this is another shocker mate!!!!!!!!!!!
19 Jun 2006, 08:17 am
Julies should have the inside track if Fourie is not available.
Playing Habana at centre against the French is a gamble. He hasn’t played there for two seasons and has established himself as a world class wing in that time.
Olivier and Fourie should be 12 and 13 or, if Fourie can’t play, it should be Olivier at 13 and Julies at 12.
19 Jun 2006, 08:24 am
I would try Bryan at 13. He is class enough to make the adjustment.
If its not working out, Jake can always move him back to the wing at half time.
Take a chance, he was a centre all along, with his accelaration and speed he would give any opposition nightmares and would be allot more involved in the game.
You cant have one of the fastest players in the world only touching the ball once in an entire test.
19 Jun 2006, 08:39 am
You can play Ollie at centre as long as they play under the instructions to take everyball as a crash ball
19 Jun 2006, 09:05 am
Untwist yer knickers, people. Fourie will play together with Olivier. Barry will play… with his Lego on his bedroom floor. And Julies will come off the bench when Fourie knocks his ribs again in the 2nd half to complete his undisputed record of never having lost in a Bok jersey. And that’s the way it will be.
19 Jun 2006, 09:07 am
Speaking of centres, whatever happened to Danie Van Schalkwyk (Spelling)?
19 Jun 2006, 09:29 am
Ricane,
Do you think Henry and Co will play Smith alongside Mauger? They have rather similar-type skillsets, and Mauger is a certainty at #12.
I do agree with you about Nonu, he is the ideal bench man who also covers centre and wing as well.
I didn’t think Laulala was hugely impressive, thought he was solid, not “awefull”. Made 3 line breaks and 8 out of 8 tackles. Yes, I have not forgotten his pass to the touchie and the kick. However, one must remember the fine conditions on the night.
Would not be surprised to see Laulala starting against Aussie in the 1st Tri-nations match with Nonu on the bench. The match is in CHCH and I think this might also encourage this move.
They will rotate this positon some, will be interesting.
19 Jun 2006, 09:30 am
we dont need centres man, they never get the ball and if they do it has already been slowed by a forward in the backline. might as well use two extra loosies.
i can understand using the forwards to suck in defenders, but then u must let your quick okes have it and with a lock between your flyhalf and centre it just gets too slow.
19 Jun 2006, 09:32 am
Habana at centre would be dope and that means the inclusion of a Ndungane twin is imminent then.
19 Jun 2006, 09:45 am
Danie VS retired a few years ago.
19 Jun 2006, 09:52 am
Jake,
Select any combo you like (e.g. Hayani at 12 and Danie Roussouw at 13) but please please no De Wet!!
19 Jun 2006, 09:57 am
To All Saffa’s.
Leave Habana where he is. He is class and don’t mess with his head.
As a wing he gets more freedom to improvise(if you know what I mean) than at centre.All you have to do is make an effort to string some passes together to get the ball wide.
McCawsome,
Casey had a night to forget that’s for sure. But he wasn’t the only one.I would say he might get one more shot then if no improvement…….well they gave him a chance.
19 Jun 2006, 09:58 am
put money on it, that if we play an inexperienced midfield against the french we are gonna get our asses handed to us with frogs legs as a side dish.
19 Jun 2006, 09:59 am
julies 12 habana 13 with olivier on wing
19 Jun 2006, 10:20 am
How badly injured is Marius Joubert?
Julies/Wynand 12
Joubert 13
Should be the backup centre pairings. I feel for Joubert, scores a hatrick against the AB’s and then you guys slate him coz he is struggling to get fit. WHEN he gets backto fitness, he will shine again for the BOKS!!!!
19 Jun 2006, 10:24 am
9. Fourie
10 Jaco
11. Gaffie
12. Olivier
13. Habana
14. Paulse
15. Monty
19 Jun 2006, 10:25 am
Olivier and Fourie
OR
Barry and Olivier
both are very solid center combinations, the key is to give the centers some decent ball, you simply cannot judge their abilities on attack if they’re not getting good go-forward ball, it is virtually impossible to play when getting caught behind the advantage line.
19 Jun 2006, 10:27 am
Just caught a bit of the AB test, thought one of 2 things were gonna happen.
When the ref spoke to Masoe I thouht he was gonna cry. And after that I thought at least the AB captain would hit him with a handbag.
19 Jun 2006, 10:32 am
RedCard,
if you are refering to the Irish Test match, Masoe was not even in the squad, he is playing vs the Argies.
19 Jun 2006, 10:35 am
Cane,
it will take time to develop a 13, something we don’t have alot of, we often forget the apprenticeship that Umaga went through on the wing and the protestations that went on when he was shifted to 13 (as affirmed by Smithy on the weekend).
19 Jun 2006, 10:38 am
it doesnt make sense to have julies there and not play him.
the combo they could try is julies and wynand center pairing or julies and habana or wynand and habana with julies on wing
19 Jun 2006, 10:53 am
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MEYER BOSMAN ???!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!??
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19 Jun 2006, 11:34 am
Ja unfortunately from a Sharks perspective Snyman is passed his sell by date. Bring in Bradley Barritt at outside and he’ll blow the Frogs away. One day anyway.
19 Jun 2006, 11:50 am
McCawsome,
Too true. And on that basis I believe Nonu has more potential than Casey.Nonu’s League upbring is hampering him at present/still.
Then again I could just be a biased Wellingtonian.
On the other hand Casey’s from a champion team and it’s always easier to look good in that enviroment.
19 Jun 2006, 12:28 pm
I hear ya Cane,
The Laulala vs Nonu debate is an interesting call because they do have different strengths.
I am not too bothered what they offer on attack, it’s their consistency on defense that I want to see.
When Tana moved to centre he did not make the breaks that he did on the wing (not trying to play down his skill in attack), but what he offered us was the rock around which allowed the potential in the backline to flourish, and this is what we need moving forward (to quote Mitchell). He provided the balance that we needed with the creative and attacking guys around him.
Give me a 13 who can hold onto the ball, run straight and hard, can handle the space on defense, shut down the attack, defend like a trooper, and we will be well served in the future. This was pretty much Tana’s game. This is what we need
19 Jun 2006, 12:54 pm
matfield at 12 and Bakkies at 13, they have both made cutting breaks at centre.
19 Jun 2006, 16:05 pm
De Wet isn’t even an option. He’s been banking on his reputation for far too long. During the Super 14 his defence (his so called strong point) was poor. He is slow, not to mention unimaginative. Julies isn’t World Class. Snyman has broken down again… so much for being so “tough” according to White.
These three guys should never have been in the squad in the first place.
What does it matter anyway? White insists on picking the no talent “Man from Japan” at flyhalf. Our backline is a disaster!
Why is nobody complaining about Jaco?
19 Jun 2006, 16:26 pm
Wynand hasn’t done anything sufficiently wrong to be dropped now.
Combine him and Habana, or Julies and Habana.
At least Julies knows how to time a pass to No 13.
19 Jun 2006, 17:26 pm
cool now we can watch de wet crash up all day and miss tackles as soon as his opposite number goois a sidestep…..luckily the french backs dont ever sidestep or play with much flair!!!!
Come on Jake let barry go overseas pleaaaaaaaaaaaaase!!!!!!!!!!!
19 Jun 2006, 19:57 pm
If Jake is consistent, then Julies should be in the mix for a starting spot now [after calling him up last week].
Lets see…
19 Jun 2006, 21:15 pm
Trevor Halstead
20 Jun 2006, 02:05 am
Bringing in Barrett coudn’t make matters any worse. It is time S A followed New Zealands lead into selecting a couple of youngsters in the frame. I mean by now White should have some idea who his world cup thre-quartyers are going to be . Instead he fluffs around with a back line incabable of scoring tries!! In the last two internationals Australia scored eight and the All Blacks five. Last week against one of the weaker International teams the Springboks scored one. Boring!!!! Hamba Kahle
20 Jun 2006, 03:59 am
When did Olivier play at 13? I can’t remember him ever playing there in the S14. Wow! With DWB not having played in weeks, we are really going into this test with a major midfield problem, and that against the best combination in the world. For SA I guess that’s going to be another 10 men game like last Saturday and losts of defence.
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