Nelspruit - Tired and somewhat irritated by the talk of the Springboks adopting the Lions Super Rugby game plan, South Africa's senior national rugby team coach Allister Coetzee played open cards with how he wants his team to play in the upcoming Rugby Championship.
Win, win and win. That is all that Coetzee is expecting from his team and it is the game plan they hope to unleash against Argentina at the Mbombela Stadium here on Saturday.
However, Coetzee’s charges will have to do it without Duane Vermeulen and probably Francois Hougaard who both have been struck down by injury.
Vermeulen was withdrawn from the squad over the weekend while a dark cloud hangs over the fitness of Hougaard who suffered a knee injury while on duty for the national men’s Sevens team at the Rio Olympics where they came back with a bronze medal.
Hougaard was rushed for an MRI scan on Monday upon the team’s arrival in Nelspruit as the tattoo-laden scrumhalf complained of discomfort in the knee. But Coetzee stated that he won’t be calling on re-enforcements just yet, with Faf de Klerk and Rudy Paige deemed sufficient cover for Saturday’s encounter against Los Pumas.
“Francois Hougaard went for a scan on his knee as he picked up a niggle before boarding the plane (back to South Africa). At the time the extent of the injury wasn’t known and when he arrived on Sunday, he didn’t feel comfortable. For me, I want to know if it is a niggle or an injury. In the event he is ruled out, I still have Faf and Paige and I will know if I should make an arrangement for a third scrumhalf or not,” Coetzee said on Monday.
Hot off Coetzee’s tongue was not the injury crisis unfolding before his eyes on the eve of the toughest test of his fledgling tenure as Springbok coach. Instead it has been all the talk about the Springboks adopting a game plan similar to that which saw the Lions make it to the Super Rugby final.
“There is nothing that anyone brings back that is different to what we have here. We are sitting with players with certain skill sets and no-one stifles any players skills set in the Springbok set-up. I still expect the Sevens players to bring that flair and breakdown skills and the decision-making to the party. I still expect the Lions players and their style to have that here, nobody stifles that here. Our main thing is, there should be balance and that is the focus at Test match. What the Lions have experienced in the final helps us and it helps the players to grow.
“There is no plan A, plan B or plan C. If I must have those plans then I must have a different line-up for them.
“The big plan is, the balance, the pressure with the kicking game, the pressure with the set-piece and the pressure at the breakdown and good decision-making. And obviously win, win, win. That’s what this game is, no need to over-complicate things,” Coetzee said.
In and amongst the many revelations that Coetzee offered on Monday, Warren Whiteley has been all but confirmed as the man to take over the reins at No 8 from Vermeulen. Coetzee remains hopeful, however, that the France-based Vermeulen could return in time to face the Wallabies and the All Blacks in the last two matches of the competition.
But there is a piece of the puzzle missing from Coetzee’s simple game plan and that is who, between Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje and the devastating runner in Sikhumbuzo Notshe, will wear the No 7 jersey?
Mohoje seems to have the inside lane at making a return to the national team after a two year hiatus during which he was dogged by injury and a loss of form. Notshe, on the other hand, looks set to act as cover for both Mohoje and Whiteley off the bench.
Any talk of Francois Louw or Jaco Kriel being shifted to the blindside flank was put to bed by Coetzee on Monday as he emphasised that both are players suited to the No 6 jersey.
The Star