Heyneke Meyer has pin-pointed “good discipline” as the key to being in with a shout of beating the All Blacks for the first time in his career as Springbok coach.
The teams meet at Ellis Park on Saturday on the final weekend of this year’s Rugby Championship, with the visitors already crowned champions of the southern hemisphere. Meyer has yet to taste victory against New Zealand, but then few coaches have experienced that sensation in recent times.
The All Blacks go into the match with just one defeat to their name in their last 42 matches. The Boks came close in Wellington a few weeks ago, losing 14-10, but Meyer believes his side can do the business if they maintain their discipline.
“You’re not going to beat New Zealand by bullying them or using tactics that are not in the laws of the game,” he said yesterday. “Our discipline has been good this year and we’re going to have to maintain that, but I also want my players to be aggressive. I’ve always said ballroom dancing is a contact sport; rugby is a collision sport. We’re going to have to dominate them, be physical, and be smarter, but the most important thing is good discipline.”
The contentious dismissal of Bryan Habana in the dying moments of the Boks’ match against Australia in Perth a few weeks ago has been highlighted as a contributing factor to the Wallabies winning that game and ensuring Saturday’s match is no longer a title-decider. “That was the difference between winning and losing that game, and us playing for the Championship this weekend,” said Meyer.
“There’s a fine line between imposing oneself and being stupid and giving away penalties. Against Australia last week we gave away only four penalties, which is excellent, and we’re going to have to be as good this week.”
Not surprisingly Meyer has picked the slightly more aggressive Bismarck du Plessis to start at hooker this weekend, while Duane Vermeulen is still doubtful for the match and has been bracketed with Schalk Burger. Meyer believes the game could also hinge on his first choice No8’s availability.
“Duane’s been outstanding this year. He’s in excellent form and plays an integral part in our game – the line-outs and kick-offs. He’s probably close to being the IRB Player of the Year.
“It would be a big setback if he didn’t make it, especially because we’re also without Willem Alberts and Francois Louw, a combination that is established and played well together in recent years.
“That loose forward battle will be key this weekend, and could decide who wins and who loses. We’re going to give Duane as much time as possible to recover.”
While the Rugby Championship title is no longer at stake – something Meyer said had eased the pressure on the team in the build-up, unlike last year when the Boks had to chase four tries for a bonus point win – the Bok boss said a victory this weekend would be a huge boost for the players’ confidence.
“If you look at our team, we’ve got two loose forwards out, our best two scrumhalves are missing, Jaque Fourie is absent and JP Pietersen is just back, then you realise we’ve built good depth in recent years. So, if we beat the All Blacks with this side it’ll be a big morale booster because they’re close to full strength.
“But, confidence is a strange thing, you have to win every game, not just one. We still have to start from scratch next year, irrespective of what happens on Saturday. It would be great to beat them, but we still have lost of work ahead to be number one.”
In other team news, Bryan Habana has passed all his tests after picking up concussion-like symptoms against Australia last weekend and been declared fit to play.
Springbok Team:
Willie le Roux, Cornal Hendricks, Jan Serfontein, Jean de Villiers (capt), Bryan Habana, Handré Pollard, Francois Hougaard, Duane Vermeulen/Schalk Burger, Oupa Mohoje, Marcell Coetzee, Victor Matfield, Eben Etzebeth, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane, Marcel van der Merwe, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger/Warren Whiteley, Cobus Reinach, Pat Lambie, JP Pietersen - The Star