Bakkies: No doubting my fitness
15 Sep 2011
Bakkies Botha says there should be no concern about his readiness despite earlier reports that his Achilles injury was serious.
Springboks team doctor Craig Roberts conceded on Monday that the lock was not responding treatment as well as they had hoped. Botha’s selection for the Test against Fiji in Wellington was therefore a surprise.
However, he sought to allay any fears there may be around his condition. ‘I just gave it a go on Tuesday morning and I was just happy to go throughout the training session, so I’m back and I’m quite happy where I am,’ he told keo.co.za.
‘I still feel a little bit of a stiffness, but it is like that old farm vehicle in the morning, it smokes a bit, but if you drive it around for half an hour then it is hot and it can go. So hopefully everything will run smoothly for me.
‘I will definitely warm up much earlier than the normal players do, but if my heel is not going to to make its not going to make it. If it lasts for 80 minutes, it lasts for 80 minutes. As long as I’m just going onto the pitch and give 100% and look the players next to me in they eye and knowing that I can give 100%, I’m happy.’
Pat Lambie was also named to start after a shoulder injury had troubled him. He expressed delight at news of his selection – ‘I’ve slept really well since I heard I was in’ – and also spoke of his eagerness to get on the park. ‘I’m really pleased with the progress that I have made with my shoulder, the medical staff are happy as well. I was actually given the all clear last week so I’ve been rearing to go for a couple of weeks now,’ he said.
Asked about the size of some of the Fijians in comparison to his relatively diminutive physical constitution, Lambie quipped: ‘Something I was told as a youngster is that everyone’s ankles are similar sizes, so you’ll find me going for their ankles.’
Odwa Ndungane was a shock inclusion when the World Cup squad was announced, but gets an opportunity to front Fiji thanks to Bryan Habana being ruled out with a knee injury. He stressed the importance of treasuring possession, something they struggled to do against Wales in the opener.
‘We’ve seen in the game they played against Namibia that they are quite a physical team and they love to run with the ball, so its important for us it to make sure that we do what we trained and keep the ball away from them,’ Ndungane said.
‘That is the only way we can put them under pressure – by not giving them the ball, getting our set-pieces right and dominating the physical aspects of the game.’
Botha was typically bullish when probed on the islanders’ athleticism. ‘I saw their number four went down the touchline against Namibia, then dummied inside and popped a pass for the scrumhalf or the wing,’ he noted. ‘But we know Fiji has those types of players, very versatile and athletic.
‘As long as we stick to our plan and what we want to do this weekend and do it to 100% of our ability, we believe we can have a good day at the office.’
By Ryan Vrede, in Wellington
Follow Ryan’s World Cup coverage on Twitter
30 Comments
15 Sep 2011, 03:48 am
These saffers are so full of sh*t. Most of the team injured for the 3N, and now this rubbish.
How does a bloke go from not repsonding to treatment on Monday, to playing on saturday.
makes you wonder about the injury to matfield.
15 Sep 2011, 03:52 am
@TahRoo(TahRoo)-1:
I saw Matfield at a strip club dancing with a stripper, he seemed ok then
Actually i am married so i wasnt at the strip club and didnt see matfield dancing.
15 Sep 2011, 04:05 am
@TahRoo(TahRoo)-1:
Haha Roo-man, you should know we are made of tough stuff and some days you just don’t feel the pain…or maybe it was Suzie’s daughter and her muti that did the trick! You will never know…
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-2:
But he could have been at the club?!?!
15 Sep 2011, 04:20 am
@TahRoo(TahRoo)-1: the mind games appear to working….
15 Sep 2011, 04:31 am
@TahRoo(TahRoo)-1:
yeh about as authentic as McCaw,Carter and Mils injuries are but Aussie cant even afford to play those types of games they don’t have the depth
15 Sep 2011, 04:32 am
Poppadoos saw wet pantie dancing in a *** strip club last week.
15 Sep 2011, 04:44 am
Buckies — here today, gone tomorrow. Like a pop-up target at a rifle-shooting gallery.
15 Sep 2011, 04:57 am
“‘That is the only way we can put them under pressure – by not giving them the ball, getting our set-pieces right and dominating the physical aspects of the game.”
So much bull-**** lip-service from this team…
Yet they have a bench with no TH back-up, a surplus LH… only one loose-forward and semi-injured lock, with a 4/3 split where one of RP or JDJ will not be used!
Now contrast that with the Wallabies bench vs IRE!
Polota-Nau, Slipper, Simmons, McCalman, Higgenbotham, Burgess, Mitchell.
15 Sep 2011, 05:16 am
I love you Bakkies
15 Sep 2011, 05:29 am
‘I still feel a little bit of a stiffness, but it is like that old farm vehicle in the morning, it smokes a bit, but if you drive it around for half an hour then it is hot and it can go….
Aish! Seeing that he hardly ever goes past 50 minutes in any game he starts, take of 30 for him to warm up and get rid of the smoke around the pitch and you have to wonder why he bothers.
But yes, I can’t understand why he is being risk at this stage, why not wait another week?!
15 Sep 2011, 06:59 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-10:
Yes rest him this week and next week vs namibia
We need him for samao
15 Sep 2011, 07:20 am
Ya ya ya …ek weet v beter.
15 Sep 2011, 07:53 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-7:
Maybe Buckies but not BAKKIES BOTHA, shame poor ALI and Brad.
15 Sep 2011, 08:23 am
Vertel Staal
15 Sep 2011, 08:44 am
ek het julle voorheen vertel…bakkies botha does not submit himself to injuries with gayy sounding greek names…’achilles tendinitis’…wat de fok man?
nee, nie bakkie nie.
15 Sep 2011, 08:47 am
nie bakkies nie…
15 Sep 2011, 08:50 am
“if my heel is not going to to make its not going to make it. If it lasts for 80 minutes, it lasts for 80 minutes” doesn’t sound like he’s fit to me, stupid to risk Bakkies against Fiji. Let him heal in time for playoffs… What will he do if it isn’t right: further aggravate his injury and then he’ll end up only being able to hop on one leg (imagine him hopping into the rucks). It’s not too late, let Alberts start in his place and put Flouw on the bench!
15 Sep 2011, 08:58 am
absolutely crazy, give him another week at least.
15 Sep 2011, 09:09 am
“As long as I’m just going onto the pitch and give 100% AND LOOK THE PLAYERS NEXT TO ME IN THE EYE and knowing that I can give 100%, I’m happy.”…
sweet, sweet bakkies.
15 Sep 2011, 09:21 am
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-8: you’re such an alarmist and a know-it-all. not everything done by australia is gospel.
the all blacks put 60 pts past fiji just about 2 months back and they had Flynn, Afoa, Whitelock, Kaino, Weepu, Carter & Ben Smith on the bench
John Afoa came on for Wyatt Crockett and Flynn for Hore yet the All Blacks managed to get a PENALTY TRY in the 77th minute as the Fijian scrum was sshit!
am not suggesting the three stooges are right but spare us the the doom & gloom that you’re repeating on every thread
15 Sep 2011, 09:24 am
Hey Vrede, good article, I’m sure you are burning the midnight oil in NZ. As SA’s premier rugby site, you really need to do a bit more editing of your text before you post it, the grammar and spelling is diluting yours and Keo’s name. Just a thought…
15 Sep 2011, 09:39 am
These coaches lost it big time… when is this farce going to stop.
Are we suddenly so scared of the Fijians, that we need to play Bakkies and risk aggravating his injury. He’s obviously is not 100% healed?
And moving F. Steyn again to 12 after he had a decent game at 15. Where’s the continuity? He’s apparently there to cover M. Steyn’s “defensive frailties”. What is that all about?
How about giving M. Steyn a good snotklap or kick up the *** and telling him to pull finger and get stuck in. What are we going to do against Samoa or the ABs, if we’re already worried about his defense.
F@ck it, we’re talking about Fiji here. Any Superrugby team would fancy their chances against them.
15 Sep 2011, 10:54 am
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-8:
Aus this Aus that blah blah blah.Only team to play full strength team for entire 3N,now all of a sudden they are the standard after being the worst SH side for the best part of 4 years.
The doom and gloom with all things Ozzie amazing tune has gotten old.
Try something else,maybe you may have an impact on here.Just plain boring at present
15 Sep 2011, 11:30 am
Bakkies is playing so that he can qualify for a Winners medal.
He will be injured after this game and replaced. The OBC looking after each other as G10 would have said.
15 Sep 2011, 12:16 pm
Agree with previous comments regarding playing Bakkies too soon. It’s reckless coaching – but what do you expect?
Can understand why they moved Frans to inside centre – but it is not his position – he is a FULLBACK where he has the time to make his play; let’s see how it works – I imagine he will be a bit slower on reflex and all the Frans-haters on this blog will have a field day –
Critical J de Villiers recovers …. he’s very good defensively so that Frans can go back to FB.
15 Sep 2011, 12:54 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-20: I told him to get his tissues ready when suddenly he distanced himself from the Boks.
15 Sep 2011, 12:56 pm
@J.B. Cowper(J.B. Cowper)-25: Steyn plays most of his rugby at 12 these days … and he has said that 12 is his best position.
15 Sep 2011, 13:08 pm
#27 – RL – you are quite correct; but he’s wasted there in my opinion although I think he will do a very good job. Sounds like a contradiction, I know. I take with a pinch of salt what he says – he actually once said fly-half is his best position and he’s actually a disaster palying there.
He doesn’t like FB but really he is brilliant there, in my humble opinion, and we will need a last line of defense against AB’s – although, Jean de V. is not recovered in time that LETHAL A/Black centre pairing will have a field day if we are not solid at first centre; so maybe he will end up there – but that leaves the FB position very vulnerable, to the high ball particularly. Steyn is solid and aggresssive catching up-and-unders and we need that Howitzer boot to clear us our of trouble.
15 Sep 2011, 20:56 pm
Bakkies Botha is so sterk, hy kan ‘n bladsy uit facebook uit skeur
Bakkies Botha bel nie die verkeerde nommer nie, jy antwoord die verkeerde ****** foon
Bakkies Botha has already been to Mars; that’s why there are no signs of life.
Bakkies Botha doesn’t flush the toilet, he scares the sh*t out of it
Death once had a near-Bakkies Botha experience
Bakkies Botha doesn’t need a GPS. Bakkies Botha decides where he is.
The sheep on Bakkies Botha’ farm are the ones that give us steel wool.
Bakkies Botha will never have a heart attack. His heart isn’t nearly foolish enough to attack him.
Bakkies Botha can speak Braille.
Bakkies Botha does not ****, nothing escapes Bakkies Botha
Some kids pee their name in snow. Bakkies Botha pees his name in concrete.
Toe Alexander Graham Bell die foon ontwerp het, was daar reeds 3 missed calls van Bakkies Botha af
The Vredefort dome was not created by a meteorite, Bakkies Botha decided to put his foot down
Die enigste tyd wat Bakkies rustig raak is as Riaan die nuus lees om 7
Wanneer Bakkies melk op sy rice crispies gooi, bly hulle tjoep ****** stil
Die eerste ding wat Bakkies doen wanneer hy by die see aankom, is om twee lengtes te swem
16 Sep 2011, 03:02 am
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-2:
“I saw Matfield at a strip club dancing with a stripper, he seemed ok then”
Thats not a stripper, it was Suzi doing the haka.
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