Cape Town - Patrick Lambie is not injured, and the inclusion of Morné Steyn at flyhalf doesn’t mean that the Springboks will adopt a “kick and chase” game plan in Saturday’s Test against Australia in Pretoria.
That was the word from Bok coach Allister Coetzee on Thursday after making a surprise call to pick Lambie at fullback, while Steyn is joined at halfback by Rudy Paige, who will make his first start at scrumhalf.
The rest of the team is unchanged from the one that began in Christchurch against the All Blacks a few weeks ago, but on the bench, Bongi Mbonambi, Julian Redelinghuys, Lood de Jager, Lionel Mapoe and Willie le Roux are the new faces.
But it was the selection of Lambie at No 15 - in place of Johan Goosen, who was left out of the match-23 along with Elton Jantjies and Faf de Klerk - that attracted the most attention during Thursday’s press conference.
Coetzee, though, was adamant that the Sharks star could handle the pressure at Loftus Versfeld (5pm kickoff) despite being out for three months and playing just 20 minutes of Currie Cup rugby off the bench.
“They are changes that we need at this point in time in terms of the way we want to play, the plan that we have. At 15, Patrick Lambie has 51 Test caps, so he comes with a lot of experience,” the coach said.
“Patrick Lambie, understand it clearly, is not injured anymore. He’s played for the Sharks, so at training I saw Pat oozes with confidence. So as a Springbok, knowing that is a great opportunity to play for the Boks again, he is ready to play. He comes with leadership, the know-how and understanding of what we want to achieve this weekend. That’s why Pat’s inclusion is not a gamble at all.
“It is not a concern that he hasn’t played much at fullback recently because of the 51 Tests. He brings leadership to our backline, communication with Bryan - sound communication and organisation. His positional play is solid and he is solid under the high ball, where we haven’t been good.”
Steyn will earn his 65th cap, while Paige’s four Tests have all been off the bench. Both players are known for their strong kicking games, but Coetzee insisted that their inclusion doesn’t mean that the South Africans will just put boot to ball against the Wallabies to end a three-match losing streak.
“There is a plan on the table and those two (Paige and Steyn) are likely to fit in with the way we want to play this weekend. It’s about being familiar with the conditions at Loftus. I’m not sure about whether they have played a lot together, but that’s not the issue. The issue is our plan, and executing that, it’s gone well in training this week,” the coach said.
“The big concern, when you look at teams winning championships, is the territory battle that we haven’t dominated. We haven’t. If you don’t dominate territory, you won’t get set-pieces in the opposition’s half, and you won’t be able to put on scoreboard pressure - because that’s where you score tries from, once you get there.
“Then you have the opportunity to build scoreboard pressure. Yes, territory is always important, but what I don’t want to… I hope not, that the message is that we are just going to kick - kick and chase. No, that’s not the message.
“If you’ve looked at how we’ve attacked from lineouts, it’s been really good and impressive, and I would like to get lineouts just closer to the opposition’s (line), in their half.”
Springbok Team
15 Patrick Lambie, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Bench:16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Jaco Kriel, 22 Lionel Mapoe, 23 Willie le Roux.
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