Cardiff - The South African rugby season began on Friday, February 15 this year, which was over nine months ago.
So, when the curtain comes down on 2014 for the Springboks this afternoon against Wales at the magnificent Millennium Stadium, it will be as much about relief as it is another chance to fine-tune their game ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup.
And it would be easy for Heyneke Meyer’s players to think about how they will be lying on South African beaches in a few days’ time, which could just be the difference between winning and losing against a desperate Welsh side who will fancy their chances on Saturday.
Bok captain Jean de Villiers, though, is adamant that they don’t have one foot on the plane already.
“No, not at all. I think we are professional enough to know there is still a job at hand and we need to make sure that we perform well,” he said in the Welsh capital on Friday.
“I think it’s pretty easy to motivate yourself, seeing that it is the last one. You can put all your effort into it - not that you don’t do it in every other week of the year. The same things are on the line as it is every other time we put on the Springbok jersey, and the responsibility is there to represent the country with pride.
“So, there is a lot of motivation and we are playing against a quality side who have a lot to prove as well. It makes the challenge so much better.”
But the Boks themselves have a lot to prove.
They have produced stuttering performances in all three end-of-year Tests, and even though they upped the tempo significantly in the victory over England, there are still a number of facets of their play that are still not operating at 100%.
De Villiers said the scrums have “probably been the best area of our game” on the tour, but as negatives pointed out the dip in the line-outs against Italy last week, the fact that the Boks have conceded five tries in only three games, while also struggling to turn a considerable amount of possession into points through poor finishing.
A lot has been made this week of how strong the Welsh backline is with the likes of Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies, Alex Cuthbert and Leigh Halfpenny, with Bok coach Meyer even stating that they are “one of the best backlines” around.
But De Villiers said that the South Africans hadn’t prepared special plans to deal with powerhouse centre Roberts in particular. And while the Bok backs have battled to fire over the last three weeks on attack, they can take confidence from the fact that they produced several game-changing moments against the selfsame Welsh side in the Tests in June this year.
Welsh defence coach Shaun Edwards went as far as saying that Willie le Roux had been their “tormentor” in that series, while he also had a high regard for right wing Cornal Hendricks, who had scored in both Tests and was involved in the incident that led to the winning penalty-try in the Nelspruit encounter.
On top of that, the roof at the Millenium Stadium will be closed Saturday, and while the pitch looked patchy in areas during the Bok captain’s run on Friday, at least the wind or dampness won’t affect the play.
“At the end of the day, we want a good game of rugby - I think that’s what everyone wants. That’s what Wales want, what we want, the people at the stadium and those watching on TV.
“It’s about putting a good product out there, and if the roof can be closed and assist with that (objective), then I can’t see us not doing it,” De Villiers said.
“It’s about being able to make the big plays in the difficult times in the game. I’m confident that the guys we’ve selected in the backline and forwards can deliver at the crucial times. They have proven it before.
“We believe we’ve got a good enough backline to challenge them. If you can win a lot of ball and possession in the set-phases, then usually you can dictate the game and the pace of the game. But again, it’s about what you do with the possession and not the percentage of possession.
“When it comes to handling, I believe it’s a personal thing - no matter if the ball is wet, dry or it’s windy on the day, it comes down to the individual to make sure that he catches the ball and passes it to the area where he wants it to go.
“It’s as simple as that, and you need to get it right more often than not if you are playing at this level. The conditions will be great tomorrow, and we need to execute our plans and have good execution in doing that.”
The Boks have won nine out of their 12 Tests this year, including finally breaking their three-year drought against the All Blacks. But after losing to Ireland in Dublin, De Villiers believes that Saturday’s clash takes on added significance.
“This is a very important game for us. I think the success of the year will be determined by the result (Saturday).
“Also our preparation going into the World Cup will definitely take a backwards step if we don’t get a good result,” said the skipper.
“We’ve only got five games left before the World Cup, so you want to make the most of it and make sure you keep on preparing. But our focus is only on this game and we want to keep on improving on our game.
“Wales also have a lot to prove, and I suppose this game is like a World Cup final in itself for us - it’s a must-win and we need to put in a big performance.”
Meanwhile South Africa’s Francois Hougaard and Cornal Hendricks were on Friday named among the five nominees for the International Rugby Players’ Association (IRPA) Try of the Year.
Welshman Jamie Roberts, Canada’s IRB Women’s Player of the Year Magali Harvey and England’s Jonny May were also shortlisted for the award.
The tries were selected by a panel comprising Samoa’s Seilala Mapusua, All Black Jeff Wilson, Ireland’s Alan Quinlan and Dan Parks of Scotland.
Hendricks marked his Springbok debut with a try in the first Test against Wales in June. It came after Willie le Roux drew defenders to him before spreading the ball wide to the right for the wing to dot down.
Hougaard, meanwhile, brought the Ellis Park crowd to its feet when he dived over under the posts to finish off a move which had begun deep in South Africa’s half. It involved all of the backline as the Springboks ended a losing run against New Zealand with a 27-25 win in the Rugby Championship in October.
Teams for Cardiff
Wales:15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Gethin Jenkins. Bench: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 James King, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Scott Williams.
South Africa:15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira. Bench: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Damian de Allende.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland). Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Pascal Gauzère (France). TMO: Graham Hughes (England).
Kickoff:4.30pm. South African time.
Saturday Star and Sapa