Du Plessis calls for major mettle
21 Nov 2012
Jannie du Plessis acknowledged fatigue has gripped the squad after the longest season in history but refused to accept that it would debilitate the Springboks’ forwards.
Where they’ve drawn the energy from for two tour victories in an season that has seen the bulk of the heavies play nearly every match they could is beyond me. The draconian schedule has had serious implications when you look at the injury crisis the Springboks are enduring but the men left standing have somehow managed to rouse themselves in a bid to achieve their goal of an unbeaten tour.
The heavies have been very impressive in patches on attack and, when pinned in their half against Ireland and Scotland, were industrious, brutal and unrelenting on defence. England, however, will be the sternest challenge of them in this regard, and their drive will be fuelled by their media and respected former players and coaches calling for an almighty effort from their forwards
Du Plessis was acutely aware of the magnitude of the challenge that awaits, but while not denying the impact of fatigue, he called mental strength to be the defining characteristic of the Springboks.
‘England were always going to be a very tough game three weeks into the tour, especially after they’ve had a fortnight of rugby under their belt to settle. But it doesn’t matter that we’re three weeks in. In fact, therein lies the challenge, to be able to lift ourselves to play well,’ he said.
‘It is going to be massively physical, it’ll be trench warfare. We’d be fools to expect anything else. But the mind can overcome anything. We’ve got 80 minutes before we achieve our goal. If that’s not enough motivation to get up for this one, at the home of rugby, then I don’t know what would be.’
With a number of world class forwards injured or unavailable, there were concerns that that area of the Springboks’ armoury would be vulnerable. However, they have discovered a measure of synergy that has seen them dominate for many of their Tests this season, including against the formidable All Blacks eight in Dunedin. They achieved an appreciable level of synergy on attack in periods this tour and responded well when asked to guard their tryline, with the likes of Du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Francois Louw, Duane Vermeulen and Willem Alberts prominent in blunting their opponents’ attacking ambition.
‘The young guys and those with less experience matured quickly, and have really played well this season,’ Du Plessis said. ‘The more this pack has played together the better we’ve become. There’s a sense of trust among the boys, which is important to success. And there’s a deep feeling of unity. The combined effort here has definitely proven to be greater than the sum of its parts.’
Du Plessis charmed the English media with his quirky manner and flowery descriptions of even the most technical aspects of the game. He knows he has a crucial role to play in general and set play on Saturday, but he earned a good laugh when asked for his thoughts on Adriaan Strauss’s intercept try against Scotland on Saturday.
‘I would love to do that, it would be number one on my list of things to accomplish,’ he said. ‘But there’s no chance I’ll decelerate before the tryline like Adriaan, I’ll probably pick up speed and do a somersault. I do try to do stuff like [interceptions] but I’m probably not good enough. But if I get the chance, I’ll make the most of it in my celebration.’
17 Comments
21 Nov 2012, 14:51 pm
Dragon Rest needed.
21 Nov 2012, 14:53 pm
HM is right when he says our Boks need to be centrally contracted if we are to become the nr1 ranked team on the planet.
21 Nov 2012, 14:55 pm
This guy has been a revelation….
21 Nov 2012, 15:15 pm
Not his or his brother’s biggest fan, but mostly due to their dofkop thuggery and penalty count than playing ability.
He has played well this year, and alone does concede less mindless penalties
21 Nov 2012, 18:13 pm
Die Doktor het gepraat!
21 Nov 2012, 18:14 pm
@bokfan1-5: Dokter
21 Nov 2012, 21:36 pm
Big game Bokka!! Junnie is one such player Definitely in need of a brake hope he does not get injured.
21 Nov 2012, 23:34 pm
Oh please no more bull about fatigue and not talking about it. When you tell someone notto think about a carrot, thats teh first thing they think about. Rather think about energy, ambition, achievement, building a reputation as hardasses that give nothing away, ever.
22 Nov 2012, 00:53 am
As much as everyone seems to be having a go at HM, you have to give him some credit with what he has achieved this year with a VERY inexperienced forward pack.
International rugby is very different to S15 and he has given a very good indication that he is well on his way to building a world beating forward pack like he did with the Bulls. We have at times dominated every forward pack in the world even the settled and experience AB’s. I’m excited to see what happens in the next 2 years with the return of some experience and the growth of the youngsters.
That being said, HM seriously needs to get up to speed with the backline and ASAP. I have no idea where he gets the idea that Ricardo Loubscher is good enough to coach an international backline. He played for the boks 4 times and wasn’t even good.
Please get someone like David Campese or someone that has shown they have the technical knowledge and skill to take our backline play to the next level.
22 Nov 2012, 05:07 am
Really Vrede?
“… in an season …”
Gaan vra jou skoolgeld terug boet, hulle het jou verneuk!
22 Nov 2012, 05:53 am
@Slartibartfast-10:
mistakes happen. chill, man.
22 Nov 2012, 06:36 am
Vrede gets more critisised than HM. I hope he is having a jol on tour.
22 Nov 2012, 08:55 am
Looking at this cycnically it could be seen as an advance excuse. I think Meyer made an error in not playing some second stringers against the Scotties and give the best a rest for the Poms who will come out firing, particularly after having been man shamed by the cunning Oz. But he can’t really seem to coach his first stringers that convincingly so the second set may have been diabolically poor.
22 Nov 2012, 10:12 am
So, why aren’t the All Blacks just as tired?
22 Nov 2012, 10:26 am
Our forward pack has been very impressive this year..I think due to the younger guys taking the oppertunity of the “senior players” not available for selection.Out back though is a different story… Granted it has been a long season , but these guys are professionals that eat , breath and S**t rugby. Suck it up and give 110% all the time , cause there is another player waiting to take your position in a heartbeat and is willing to die in the Springbok jersey..
22 Nov 2012, 10:27 am
Look, I applaud the fact that he feels mental strength can overcome ‘anything’ but it’s just not true, unfortunately. Fatigue leads to depletion of cognitive capacity & impaired body balance, which is a problem in very technical aspects such as scrummaging, where a lowered self-awareness could lead to excessive penalties etc. The SAID principle means these guys will perform at incredible levels even when they’re tired, but there’s no question in the last 30 minutes it will have an effect. If you’re playing against guys who are fresher, you’ll always be at a disadvantage. It’s gong to come down to good management by the coach on the day
22 Nov 2012, 10:28 am
@TheTackler-14: Who says they aren’t?
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