Bakkies boost for Boks
8 Jul 2010
Bakkies Botha has been declared fit and will start in the Springboks’ Tri-Nations opener against the All Blacks in Auckland on Saturday.
Botha and Danie Rossouw were doubtful for the clash at Eden Park as they were suffering knee injuries during the week. However, both players have passed fitness tests and will feature for the Boks this weekend – Botha alongside Victor Matfield in the second row while Rossouw will provide lock and loose forward cover on the bench.
‘Bakkies is an old stalwart and with Victor they form a formidable combination,’ Bok head coach Peter de Villiers told stuff.co.nz. ‘They understand each other. Bakkies will always bring that something extra, so for us it’s a plus to have him available.
‘Both of them [Botha and Rossouw] were outstanding in the Super 14 and it’s just reward for them to be part of the mix. I’m so blessed to have a guy like Danie to fall back on if anything happens to the back three, and he can cover lock too. Then again Andries had a good Super 14 and I can’t wait to let him loose on the field.’
In other selections, Jean de Villiers and Zane Kirchner start at wing and fullback respectively which sees Gio Aplon drop to the bench. Wynand Olivier also partners Jaque Fourie in the midfield.
With Aplon – who started against Wales, France and Italy – left on the bench, De Villiers denied that he took a ‘bigger is better’ approach to this weekend’s Test.
‘We’ve got a few guys in our team whose hearts are bigger than their bodies,’ De Villiers said. ‘You can easily be fooled by physicality alone. We’ve got a holistic approach. The skill level of our team is quite high too, so we’ve struck a happy medium with the guys we’ve got in our team.
‘Last year it [team selection] was a bit easier. We only had that starting XV and seven guys on the bench. This year in almost all positions we have to sit down and think what will be best for this Test. That makes it difficult to go to a guy and explain why he’s not part of it. I just hope the players that are there will reward us with a great performance.’
De Villiers continued: ‘I think the circumstances that we find ourselves in have necessitated this kind of selection. We expect a soft field because it’s a little bit wet here. We have gone for stability more than anything else and if you look at the guys that we chose then these are the guys that brought the stability in the Super 14. We are confident that the team we selected will be up for the challenge.’
Springboks – 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Jean de Villiers, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Subs: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James, 22 Gio Aplon.
269 Comments
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8 Jul 2010, 04:54 am
LATEST: The Springboks have gone the way of their intimidator, Bakkies Botha, after both of their injured locks were cleared to take part in Saturday’s Tri-Nations opener against the All Blacks at Eden Park.
Coach Peter de Villiers reckoned it had been a difficult team to select, such is the depth he now has at his disposal, but once Botha’s hamstring cleared up and he factored in the expected All Black response to the Boks’ sweep last year, he had no hesitation in sending out his old firm in the second row.
So Botha and Victor Matfield – with 162 caps between them – will start yet another test match together against the All Blacks, while both of his other locks have been included on the bench.
In form Stormers beanpole Andries Bekker will cover the second row and Bulls utility Danie Rossouw – now over his hip injury – will back up the loose forwards as well as provide an extra option at lock.
The other key feature of de Villiers’ selection was the decision to go with Jean de Villiers ahead of Gio Aplon on the left wing and team Jaque Fourie up with Bulls standout Wynand Olivier in the midfield.
That completes a physical looking Boks backline, which might be an indication they are set to play it pretty tight.
As expected Zane Kirchner of the Bulls gets the nod at fullback while Rickie Januarie slots in at No 9 ahead of Ruan Pienaar who is on the bench. Francois Louw joins established loosies Schalk Burger and Pierre Spies in the back row, while up front John Smit earns his 97th test cap alongside form props Jannie du Plessis and Gurthro Steenkamp.
De Villiers said he had put “the best team on the field” even if it had not been an easy one to settle on. But his choice of noted enforcer Botha indicates that they’re expecting a mighty physical battle from an All Blacks side intent on exacting some revenge.
“Last year it was a bit easier,” he said of his selection. “We only had that starting XV and seven guys on the bench. This year in almost all positions we have to sit down and think what will be best for this test. That makes it difficult to go to a guy and explain why he’s not part of it. I just hope the players that are there will reward us with a great performance.”
But de Villiers indicated that he gave little thought to breaking up the great second-row combination of Matfield and Botha.
“Bakkies is an old stalwart and with Victor they form a formidable combination,” he said. “They understand each other. Bakkies will always bring that something extra to rugby in the world so for us it’s a plus to have him available.”
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Despite that, de Villiers said his other two locks brought such compelling form to the table they deserved their chances off the bench.
“Both of them were outstanding in the Super 14 and it’s just reward for them to be part of the mix. I’m so blessed to have a guy like Danie to fall back on if anything happens to the back three, and he can cover lock too.
“Then again Andries had a good Super 14 and I can’t wait to let him loose on the field,” added the Boks coach.
De Villiers also explained why he was happy to break up last year’s successful midfield partnership and despatch his namesake to wing duty.
“If you look at how guys did in the Super 14 I think they (Olivier and Fourie) deserve the trust they earned and with the way we want to play I think that’s the right combination.”
But de Villiers did not want to buy into the theory that he’d gone for a “bigger is better” approach to his backline with the pint-sized but fleet-footed Aplon left on the bench.
“We’ve got a few guys in our team whose hearts are bigger than their bodies,” he said. “You can easily be fooled by physicality alone. We’ve got a holistic approach. The skill level of our team is quite high too, so we’ve struck a happy
medium with the guys we’ve got in our team.”
The coach was also pretty quick to shrug off the relevance of last year’s 3-0 sweep of the All Blacks by his men, and did so in classic de Villiers style.
“If you live in the past I don’t think you have any hope for the future,” he said. “We’ve put those things behind our back and our only concern is on what’s going to happen Saturday. We can’t live on past successes.”
SOUTH AFRICA: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Jean de Villiers, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie; 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp. Reserves: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James, 22 Gio Aplon.
8 Jul 2010, 04:58 am
“Spleen injury”… well, who was ever going to believe that whopper, hey?
Of course Bakkies was going to play all along.
8 Jul 2010, 04:59 am
BTW, the above is by MARC HINTON- Nice to read what the Kiwi’s
think of the team/players…
8 Jul 2010, 05:00 am
I reckon we’ll get a hiding with this side.
Surely Gio should be on the wing, Jean at inside centre and Wynand Olivier in Pretoria.
Likewise, Ricky in the Western Cape and Ruan at 9; Butch anywhere but near a Springbok jersey.
8 Jul 2010, 05:03 am
Does this mean Ruan is scrumhalf cover? Must be, with Butch covering Morne.
8 Jul 2010, 05:03 am
I agree with all you wrote above mate.
8 Jul 2010, 05:05 am
Post no 5…
8 Jul 2010, 05:07 am
Should be Frans Steyn at 15 with Zane Kirchner on the bench. How much stronger we would be. I shudder to think of Gio as our last line of defense (no disrespect to him).
8 Jul 2010, 05:09 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-2: Must have been the soet in his foot that put him in doubt
8 Jul 2010, 05:15 am
Danie and Andries on the bench is curious. Sounds like Div is planning to make a wholesale change in the engine-room at some point in the game. I hope not.
I have however been thinking that Danie at 6 for this game would have been a good choice. I think NZ is planning on counter-rucking big time. Schalk is a bit light to protect us in this area.
8 Jul 2010, 05:30 am
Surely this must be WO last chance,would love to see him perform as he has had some outstanding s14 but the last chance saloon beckons.
I would also have had hougaard on the bench or even starting on the wing he is a great finisher and for me was the most impressive player of the s14.
Kirsner worries me and I think the first mistake he makes he will be wipped off and replaced by Aplon.
This team has been selected to get the job done and no more which is fine by me as long as it succeeds in its agenda,can see quite a few changes for the following test should we lose.
Does anyone know who the ref is?
8 Jul 2010, 05:31 am
Oh, I see, from the article posted by ADIDAS: Danie is cover flank. For this game, a good decision. He might be needed sooner than we think.
8 Jul 2010, 05:43 am
Experience over youth . The first game of the Tri Nations – a must win so he has put the most experienced team on the field.
I can understand that – its a sold and reliable side with plenty of fire power and speed on the bench if required. The only comparativley weak areas must be 9 and 15. 15 there is a solution which PDV won’t adopt so Zane needs to put in a big effort especially on the counter attack. 9 – well. Ricky has had a couple of good tests and he does enjoy the physical games so its probably OK – Ruan can cover this too if needs be.
Probably the right horse for the right course
8 Jul 2010, 05:59 am
This is going to be a conserative game with lots of kicking, hence the height of JDV and then WO at centre.
Personally I think its madness leaving a positional player like Aplon out.
Hopefully he comes on in the second half when we need to score tries.
8 Jul 2010, 06:02 am
That bench looks very week, especially in the backs. Better hope the starting 15 do the business.
8 Jul 2010, 06:08 am
Why oh why Butch James on the bench, he is well past his best and is taking up the place of a far better player ?
8 Jul 2010, 06:12 am
If the AB’s target and successfully force injury on Morne Steyn, they will be happy to see Butch run on…I am sure they would have spotted this weakness [along with Chiliboy], on the bench…
8 Jul 2010, 06:12 am
Jean and Habana on the wings, two intercept kings.
8 Jul 2010, 06:36 am
Some heavy rain in Auckland will help the ABs, then they can target Januarie with his slower than ever release and Kirshner with up and under outside the 22 line.
The referee is the most important factor however, don’t know who he is
8 Jul 2010, 06:44 am
Not our number 1 team but if we can beat the All Blacks this weekend we will be unstoppable
8 Jul 2010, 07:18 am
It is imperative we win this Saturday. Why or why do you have to weaken us by leaving Frans out PDV? Do you believe you don’t deserve to win? I hope not.
8 Jul 2010, 07:20 am
@sglazer(sglazer)-21: Frans has got club commitments as stated by his agent
8 Jul 2010, 07:26 am
Only 12 from S14 players that did so well this year.
8 Jul 2010, 07:31 am
Sorry, make that 13.
15 Zane Kirchner
13 Jaque Fourie
12 Wynand Olivier
11 Bryan Habana
10 Morne Steyn
8 Pierre Spies
7 Francois Louw
6 Schalk Burger
5 Victor Matfield
1 Gurthro Steenkamp
18 Andries Bekker
19 Danie Rossouw
22 Gio Aplon
8 Jul 2010, 07:34 am
@Disa(Disa)-22: I find that not believable. Players have exit clauses in their contracts for international duty.
8 Jul 2010, 07:34 am
The only two weak links in this team is Januarie at scrumhalf and Chili on the bench.
I would also prefer to see Jean De Villiers at 12 with Francois Hougardt at 14.
But I think we are slowly getting to our best 22.
8 Jul 2010, 07:34 am
Personally I would have gone with:
1. Steenkamp
2. Smit
3. Kruger
4. Bakkies
5. Victor
6. Louw
7. Burger
8. Spies
9. Kockott/Ruan
10.Steyn
11.Habana
12.Jean
13.Fourie
14.Aplon
15.Steyn
8 Jul 2010, 07:35 am
@iceman(iceman)-26: It’s going to be interesting when Bismarck comes back. He must surely be on the bench ahead of Chili.
8 Jul 2010, 07:43 am
Not bad , can’t wait. Little worried about Wynand but i am sure he can cope.
8 Jul 2010, 07:53 am
This must be the LAST chance for Wynand Olivier to do something other than pass the ball into the stands in a Bok jersey.
8 Jul 2010, 07:54 am
@sglazer(sglazer)-28:
Yes! Bissie will definately take his place but I think that they will take three hookers to the World Cup next year and Chili will take Bissie’s place on the bench in the lessor games.
I just wish that they would get rid of Januarie though. The scrumhalf is the most important player on the field, he is the link between the forwards and the backs. You can have the best pack of forwards and best backline in the world but if your scrumhalf is weak then the whole team is effected.
I would love to see Hougaardt at scrumhalf for this game, however he has not played there in some time now but I do believe that he is the future after Fourie Du Preez retires.
8 Jul 2010, 07:58 am
@Andre_WP(Andre_WP)-29: Ja sal baie beter gevoel het met JdV daar, is jy al oor die S14 verloor?
8 Jul 2010, 08:06 am
last chance saloon for wynand, this is Test rugby, he better switch on! He can’t afford to miss tackles galore like he did against the French! Go wynand!
8 Jul 2010, 08:10 am
SOUR GRAPES… A bus can break down anywhere in the world my Paraguayan friend…
Paraguay captain Justo Villar has slammed the South African Soccer World Cup.
The goalkeeper, who was playing in his third World Cup, has claimed behind-the-scenes chaos disrupted his team’s campaign, and that South Africa was inadequately prepared to host the event.
Most observers believe the first African World Cup has been a logistical success overall, but not Villar, who’s Paraguay team was knocked out by Spain in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
“I think South Africa weren’t prepared to host the World Cup,” Villar told Telefuturo.
“A load of things happened. Like in the first game, against Italy, when we had to go to the hotel, the bus broke down and we had to wait 45 minutes and we had to go in taxis. FIFA only care about the stadiums and what you see on TV.”
8 Jul 2010, 08:11 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-33: egzackerly.
8 Jul 2010, 08:14 am
This sounds particularly incompetent though… just enough to keep our feet firmly in the ‘developing’ world…
Three planeloads of soccer fans headed for the World Cup semi-final between Spain and Germany were forced to turn back on Wednesday from Durban’s King Shaka International Airport, forcing the fans to miss the match.
Spain won the match 1-0, to go through to the final for the first time.
Two planes from Johannesburg and one from Cape Town were refused permission to land after the airport was swamped by arrivals, airport spokesperson Colin Naidoo told The Associated Press.
He said the problem was caused by the large numbers of supporters arriving at the airport for the (World Cup) semi-final.
Smaller aircraft were allowed to land and disembark passengers before taking off again and “parking” at the old Durban International Airport, Naidoo said.
“We did have some delays which were compounded by the fact we had air traffic congestion,” Naidoo said. “At a certain stage air traffic control decided to close arrivals to the airport.
“Some fans didn’t manage to get to the game because we had to turn those aircraft back.”
Naidoo said planes were usually allotted a landing slot and said there were not enough slots for the aircraft that arrived.
“We had lots of air traffic from the two countries that are playing,” he said.
8 Jul 2010, 08:15 am
off to buy a Spain flag and Top for Sunday…..
What a performance, Germans couldnt get the ball !
Love it…..That German cheat goalie got his just desserts, as did Luis Fabiano of Brazil and Soares of Uruguay….cheaters dont win!
8 Jul 2010, 08:16 am
GREAT SIDE. Awesome. One problem I have though is Butch. What the hell is he doing on the bench. Useless. Rather have JdJ or Hougaard. Got to feel for Danie.
8 Jul 2010, 08:18 am
@iceman(iceman)-31: Thankfully they’ve got Cowan this weekend. He is not world class.
8 Jul 2010, 08:19 am
No way holland got a chance Sunday…..1 way traffic…..go spain, go boys!
8 Jul 2010, 08:19 am
No, we are not talking about soccer on this article. There are bigger, greater things happening.
8 Jul 2010, 08:20 am
Olivier doesn’t deserve to start.
8 Jul 2010, 08:21 am
@grant10(grant10)-37: Van Bommel takes the top podium of cheats though
8 Jul 2010, 08:28 am
Mistake playing Kirchner and Olivier who are both good solid S14 players but don’t cut it at test level, especially Kirchner. Aplon should be in at fullback and PDV has really given away his gameplan with this 1-dimensional selection. Kick the leather off the ball until the ABs make mistakes at the back. It worked last year, will it be good enough this year?
8 Jul 2010, 08:30 am
And so it is. Let me start by saying that I am 100% behind the Boks. Having said that, I believe we have fallen into a very cunning trap laid by GH. Why do you think (a) he announced his team so early, and (b) picked the team he did?
Remember the Bok team that got rodgered by them in ol’Jake the Snakes tenure? Brawn baffles brains. Here we go again. This is how they like it. This is how they beat us- trench warfare. It’s not so much the personnel and their limitations as the mindset with which those big okes of ours go onto the field.
Add to that an ambient temperature at around or below 8 degrees with sniping polar winds and the Biggies swallow lead. Factor in the travel and we might as well have sent the motionless sentries guarding the Voortrekker Monument and a couple like them accross.
The name of the game to beat the AB’s, as we saw last year is pressure. Pressure on their kickers, pressure on their scrum, pressure on their lineouts, pressure on their runners, pressure on their loosies at the rucks and pressure on their captain. Take the available time to think and react away or shrink it into almost non-existence. We need to force them to play our game. With this team we won’t even be TRYING to make them play our game.
We will be playing their game from the start. We have committed to that by the team we have picked. That is what they know, that is how they like it, that is how they have engineered our downfall for decades- the physical stuff.
Yes, you have to be physical, but you need to be smart as well. So what do we do? We pick Bakkies, Schalk and Danie. FFS. Three yellow cards under these conditions. Okes that lose it. They have proven my case over and over again. Now you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that 15 good big okes will always beat 14, or God forbid 13, good big okes.
Remember, our game in recent years has been heavily based on a kicking game and transferring pressure that way. In these games possession is usually about 50/50. Without a chaser we are giving away a good 15 to 20 percent of our 50 % without transferring pressure, so they can counter-attack the whole day long, because we don’t have a chasing loosie- Schalk just hasn’t got the legs or the inclination anymore, and Flouw is a ruckrat, while Spies might have the legs/wheels, but he doesn’t have the heart for that type of game. And with Danie R on the bench we don’t even have a Plan B. So what are we left with- our wings to chase. Exactly what they want.
Now you have isolated your fullback at the back, without FdP to play back and cover him. Ricky J cannot play that game, and Spies is no conventional 8. Good night nurse. Let’s rather just stop right there.
All the AB’s have to do is pressurize Morne Steyn and we are well and truly F*cked. As for how to do it? Just look at how the Frogs did it on last year’s EOY tour if you have forgotten how you have been doing it all these years.
All I can say is good luck Boks, you’re gonna need it.
8 Jul 2010, 08:30 am
Bok’s are f.ckd architects of their own demise. Here comes the slide courtesy of Bakkies Botha Zane Kirchner and Wynand Olivier. End of the road boys if you too chicken to progress and want to try protect your thinly disguised weak link supremacy you going to get one fat hiding to wake you out your slumber.
Botha Olivier Kirchner James will show the way how to lose in New Zealand. If these player coaches and their puppets cannot step out their security zone they going to get thumped and here it comes first wake up call on the road
8 Jul 2010, 08:33 am
@grant10(grant10)-40: same thing brazil said
8 Jul 2010, 08:36 am
@catleya(catleya)-45: A small but important point: it’s only in the last ten years that NZ have changed the win-loss ratio in their favour, on the back of a big travel advantage in both Super Rugby and the Tri-Nations.
8 Jul 2010, 08:40 am
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR why kirchner, Aplon should be at 15
Boks dont have FDP, Pietersen, Janjtes and Smith.
I would go with
15 Aplon
14 J de Villiers
13 Jaque Fourie
12 Wynand Olivier
11 Bryan Habana
10 Morne Steyn
9 Ricky Januarie
8 Spies
7 Louw
6 Burger
5 Matfield
4 Botha
3 Bj Botha
2 John Smit
1 Guthro Steenkamp
16 Chillyboy =[
17 Jannie Du Plessis
18 Bekker
19 Russouw
20 Pienaar
21 Butch James
22 Juan De Jongh
8 Jul 2010, 08:44 am
@grant10(grant10)-40: Hi Grant10, Spain were hugely impressive last night. As for the Boks, I can’t believe the team Pdivvy has picked. Saturday it won’t be turbo reverse, it will be Rambo Brainfreeze. And I’m calling it. We’ve been duped.
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