Jean, Vic to miss Fiji clash
12 Sep 2011
Jean de Villiers and Victor Matfield will be sidelined for 10 days following injuries sustained in Sunday’s Test against Wales.
Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts confirmed on Monday that De Villiers suffered a grade one rib cartilage injury, while Matfield felt his hamstring tighten up in the second half. Both players were substituted because of their injuries, and have subsequently been ruled out of the next game against Fiji.
‘We anticipate that they will both be out for 10 days,’ said Roberts, suggesting the pair may be available for the clash against Namibia on 22 September. ‘It was a precaution to bring Jean off, as we didn’t want it to get any worse. With Victor, we feel it’s a long tournament and want to give him as much time as possible to get over the injury.’
The news means that Johann Muller will be promoted to the starting lineup, while one of Butch James or Juan de Jongh could fill the void left by De Villiers. While Muller is an adequate replacement, his elevation will leave a gap on the Bok bench, and somebody like Willem Alberts may be asked to cover lock.
The Boks will be without their premier locking pair for Saturday’s game against Fiji, as Bakkies Botha is still struggling with an Achilles injury. Reports that he may be out of the World Cup remain unconfirmed, but Roberts didn’t sound too hopeful of a recovery when speaking to the media in Wellington.
‘He’s picked up an Achilles injury and it hasn’t responded to treatment as well as we would have liked,’ the Bok doctor said. ‘We haven’t made a decision [on his availability for the rest of the tournament yet].
Coach Peter de Villiers said this decision will be made ‘sooner rather than later’.
While Alistair Hargreaves and Gerhard Mostert failed to make the initial World Cup squad, they were named on the list of 12 standby players. If Botha fails to recover from his injury, De Villiers may call up Mostert given that, like Botha, he is a specialist No 4 lock.
By Jon Cardinelli, in Wellington
140 Comments
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12 Sep 2011, 09:18 am
@SHARKattack(mabu)-91: Against Fiji we dont really need a fetcher and Burgers physicality is ideal for the Islanders. Also why risk Brussouw against Fiji? Brussouw can play against Samoa to get him match fit for the quarters.
12 Sep 2011, 09:19 am
@24_years_new_zeeland_looking_for_web_ellis_where_the_f_is_web_ellis(p0ppa69)-99:
You must live here (nz) to know that one pOOps.
12 Sep 2011, 09:28 am
@Sasuke(Sasuke)-101: after the past weekends matches, i see an upset coming up, especially for us (boks). i think we should not even consider playing a weeker sider up until we play Nambia.
our game plan needs people that can effectively win turn-over ball. if i was PDV, i would play Alberts at 8 on the bench have Flouw.
12 Sep 2011, 09:29 am
weeker = weaker
12 Sep 2011, 09:30 am
@Helen(Helen)-60: I agree with many of your points.
On the heinrich issue, I feel that he had to make so many first time tackles because Pierre (as is becoming his habit) is awol when tackles need to be made. Heinrich does his best work when he is the next man there. On Sunday he had to be the first man there, something he did very well, but which limited his “ball steaking” opportunities. If you had Alberts at 8 then things may have been better. I think he had a good game though.
12 Sep 2011, 09:33 am
@ufo(ufo)-85: Morning fella. Good points all, agree with the sentiment 100%!
Holding thumbs for those injuries though!
12 Sep 2011, 09:35 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-100: yoh!
Dawnie, you showing the steel fist?
12 Sep 2011, 09:41 am
Matfield will be ready come playoffs
Bakkies dont think so…achilles very iffy injury
De Villiers is also out I reckon-ribs & he is injury prone at wc
Best Bok team
1.Guthro 2.Bismark 3.Jannie 4.Rossouw 5.Matfield(c) 6.Brussow 7.Schalk 8.Alberts 9.du Preez 10.Morne 11.Habana 12.F.Steyn 13.Fourie 14.JPP 15.Lambie
12 Sep 2011, 09:41 am
I’m wondering how many of the senior citizens are going to make it through this tournament….the powder-puff welsh took out 2 of the most senior players already, what the hell will we look like after Samoa??
12 Sep 2011, 09:43 am
@Atreides(Atreides)-109: matfiled wasn’t “taken out”, he went into the match with the sensitive hammy.
12 Sep 2011, 09:46 am
people are upset!
chill mense, we won.
looks at the scoreboard
12 Sep 2011, 09:50 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-110: You know what I mean. The welsh don’t put in hits like the Samoans will.
12 Sep 2011, 09:54 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-108: morning msh, I told you Warburton was good!
12 Sep 2011, 09:55 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-108:
agree 99%, I think that is almost our best side.
I’d seriously consider dropping habana out of the 22 and starting with hougie. Aplon or Pienaar are better bench options than habs unfortunately.
12 Sep 2011, 09:57 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-106:
thanks Bud… yeah.. the injuries are a concern… i don’t feel confident about them at all… i just hope that the boks don’t play the guys unless they are 100 % fit… rather don’t play them at all than risk them coming off after a few minutes…
sheesh… it was a nerve-wracking game… but we squeaked out of jail for sure…
i think it may be a blessing in disguise… most of us thought we’d win comfortably… me included… so now everyone… supporters and players… are under no illusion as to the hard work and hard games that lie ahead..!!
go bokke…!!
12 Sep 2011, 09:58 am
Wat v Mark Andrews… is hy nie dalk fit nie?
12 Sep 2011, 09:59 am
@Staal(Staal)-116:
or Kobus Wiese?
12 Sep 2011, 10:00 am
Yep ranger. That prawn business is getting boring now.
12 Sep 2011, 10:02 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-118: ja but its coming from a child dawnie.
if he thinks he is getting to you, it will only get worse.
but nothing like a bit of tabasco in the morning to get the blood pumping
12 Sep 2011, 10:07 am
surprised that prawn called me a “k” …. people from the cape flats likes the p word more
12 Sep 2011, 10:14 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-100:
12 Sep 2011, 10:20 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl(Brigadier Van Zyl)-68:
i hear you but i’m actually starting to believe that perhaps the coaches should plan this campaign around the bench, more than around starting 15.
any changes should be made for injury only and not poor form.
we may actually be better served with having explosive, younger and hungrier reserves come off the bench as opposed to the opposite…(slower, older and not in such good form players) who would come off the bench, needed, to perhaps close out a game or pull it out of the fire.
12 Sep 2011, 11:01 am
@rangerman(rangerman)-111:
ag come on ranger…you should know its not about winning on the scoreboard…
12 Sep 2011, 11:05 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-100:
Phew Dawnie, you are going to give UFO a heart attack!
12 Sep 2011, 11:06 am
Why are people continuing to use age as a factor? We are younger on average by 2 years than the English team that won in 2003. We are the SAME average age as The Al Blacks at this tournament. I tell you what the problem is…….the players have been played into the ground. Tim Noakes’s advice was not taken and only 3 months ago the management team tried to rectify the situation by asking for his advice……but its too late. Simply put….the new S15 format will shorten the careers of players and in the future you will not see many +28 yr old players at RWC’s. Take a look at Victor’s playing time stats and Bekkers in the S15.
12 Sep 2011, 11:26 am
To play for 10 min of 80 min and win is crazy.
It says a lot about Howlye and Gatland though.
I liked the dejected look on their faces.
Samoa and Fiji are down the road.
Their only win might be the Namibians.
The Samoans downed the Aussies when they were there for the taking and that, i think, is the difference.
Fiji already have one up on Wales.
12 Sep 2011, 11:30 am
@madvillain(madvillain)-126:
you are a ******
I don’t know if Fiji and Samoa are going to have much joy against that Welsh defence, they will be hard fought games that’s for sure!
12 Sep 2011, 11:30 am
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-127: why is s.adist censored? fuu
12 Sep 2011, 11:34 am
Samoa beat the Wallabies 32-23 in Sydney. 9 points is a fairly big margin under the circumstances.
The Samoans should be harder against the Welsh and starting with Namibia makes their World Cup fairly easy than the Welsh’s i think.
12 Sep 2011, 12:42 pm
This is Fuunnyyy! and true!
http://youtu.be/WazeyJtY7UQ
12 Sep 2011, 12:52 pm
The replacements who came on the park on saturday must start the game against samoa,as they changed the game enough for the boks to win against wales.It is now time to drop habana as he is playing on his reputation alone as his form is very poor,hougaard is at the moment better than him on the wing of that there is no doubt,and alberts certainly made a difference at 8 in place of spies,and guthro should also start against samoa even if it is just to get him match fit as he has not played a lot of rugby lately.The commentators on the all black v tonga match stated that graham henry had not started conrad smith and played sbw in his place because smith is not as phyisical as sbw on defence and against the physicallity of the tongans sbw would be the better player even though henrys preffered combination is still nonu and smith.Surely the bok management can come up with a plan to help morne on defence as the boks need him as he is our No1 kicker,and to start the bigger games without him is just unthinkable.
12 Sep 2011, 12:54 pm
With Bakkies injured I would definitely look at bringing Francois Louw into the side as a lock. He definitely is big enough to play at 4. He is solid at the line-outs, excellent at ruck time and loves the physical stuff.
12 Sep 2011, 13:08 pm
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-113:
Yeah,he had a huge game.Young man has arrived,good for him.Still think Barnes was very avg in his calls but Warburton was huge for the Welsh regardless.
Boks still won though as rubbish as they played.
12 Sep 2011, 13:09 pm
@Storm Voort(Storm Voort)-132: Or give a call up to Quinton Davids …
12 Sep 2011, 15:37 pm
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-127: Yeah, if Wales can bring that to each game they are def going through in 1st or 2nd slot, and will go far in this RWC. With play like that they will very likely trip up one of the giants.
12 Sep 2011, 15:45 pm
@Brigadier Van Zyl(Brigadier Van Zyl)-114: OHHH PLEASE don’t play Pienaar. He farks up the little game plan we have.
The only thing Habana has got going is a little ‘presence’ … the opposition is unsure if he’s going to fire or not and tends to have to mark him more than they would like. But its minimal. Unfortunately he may just ignite against the lesser teams … which will mean he won’t be going anywhere in the tougher games. PdV doesn’t have the IQ to differentiate between small and big games …. he can’t even play players in optimal positions.
12 Sep 2011, 15:51 pm
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-133: They played rubbish yes.
BUT: One the other hand, Wales were extraordinarily good. They were as good as any of the top teams. But yes, SA should have had a better lead to not leave it down to the wire and should have been sure to have at least one score clear … that type of gameplan is bound to backfire. We are forever taking that dangerous gamble.
One big positive … It was good to get 2 tries against Wales who have really good defense.
12 Sep 2011, 16:39 pm
Team for Fiji:
1 Steenkamp
2 Du Plessis
3 Du Plessis
4 Roussouw
5 Muller
6 Brussouw
7 Burger
8 Alberts
9 Du Preez
10 James
11 Hougaard
12 De Jongh
13 Fourie
14 Aplon
15 Steyn
16 Van Der Linde
17 Smit
18 mTwarira
19 Louw
20 Spies
21 Pienaar
22 Lambie
Early substitution for Jannie and Brussouw and Roussouw.
Alberts moves to 2nd row when Louw and Spies comes on.
Smit get can 5 minutes at the end.
Others as needed.
12 Sep 2011, 19:47 pm
My team for the Fiji test:
15 Patrick Lambie
14 Gio Aplon
13 Jaque Fourie
12 Francois Steyn
11 Bryan Habana
10 Butch James
9 Fourie Du Preez
8 Schalk Burger
7 Francois Louw
6 Heinrich Brussouw
5 Johaan Muller
4 Danie Russouw
3 Jannie Du Plessis
2 Bismark Du Plessis
1 Gurthro Steenkamp
16 Chillyboy Ralepelle
17 CJ Van Der Linde
18 Tendai Mtawarira
19 Willem Albers
20 Francois Hougaard
21 Juan De Jongh
22 JP Pietersen
19 Willem Alberts
13 Sep 2011, 18:35 pm
Well to be honest dont think SA will get far with this team, I cant see them winning the next 3 and if they do – Im sure they will have more injuries.
It sad state of affairs to watch. It unbelievable how the Seniour players call the shots. Wish we had Robbie Dean as coach if we did how many of the Boks in the team now would still be there under Dean. My list below.
The seniour players have dictated this team, and still wont hang up their boots and they are injured – Juan Smith is a lengend he said no and I tell you what we could use him rite now as he would still be better than the effort Spies put in.
Burger
Brussow
Matfield ?
Bismake for sure
Hougard
F Steyn
Lambie
Steenkamp
Beast ?
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