Johannesburg - Keep calm and beat the All Blacks will be the message from interim Springbok captain Schalk Burger to the team for their Rugby Championship match at Ellis Park on Saturday.
“We will try and keep as calm as possible,” said Burger in Johannesburg at Friday’s media briefing ahead of the eagerly-anticipated match between the Southern Hemisphere giants.
“In weeks like this you don’t need added motivation. The buzz within the team is great, so we just try and keep it as normal as possible. You have to just focus on your own game. Enough has been done and said about the All Blacks, it will just be about us getting our ducks in a row.”
While the result will not be of paramount importance, coach Heyneke Meyer is still trying to find out his best XV for the global event starting in England in September. Forging a path along a winning trail will be high up on his agenda.
“The World Cup is getting closer and we want to win as many games as possible and get some momentum. In sport if you get some momentum, it’s the easiest thing as everything thereafter comes naturally. If you haven’t got it, you strive for it. It’s our first home Test match of the season so we’re looking forward to getting a victory.”
Every time the Springboks did duty for the nation there would be pressure, and the contest against their much-fancied opponents would be no different.
“Last week’s result (against Australia) wasn’t ideal. We wanted to get the victory, and we came so close. That puts a bit of added pressure on us to deliver this weekend. I don’t think there’s added pressure because it’s a World Cup year. Every Test match there’s pressure and where it’s No 1 versus No 2 in the world like South Africa against the All Blacks it’s a great occasion. The haka is about a laying down a challenge to us, our job is to not let them (the country) down.”
The intriguing loose forward combination of Burger, Heinrich Brüssow and Francois Louw could well be a key area in determining the outcome of the game. Brüssow, in particular, returns to the side he last played for in the 2011 World Cup and how the fetcher adjusts to the current set-up will be vital.
“His (Brüssow) last Test match was the quarter-final against Australia and I also played with him that game. I took a two and bit year sabbatical and he took a four year sabbatical. So it’s great to have Heinrich back, he’s a great player. We played against each other in Japan and he’s still a great player.
“Traditionally they’re (Brüssow and Louw) both open-side flankers, but they would like to be involved in more facets than just fetching. They want to carry the ball, they want to play. Flo and I have played together for ages so I think it’s quite natural. I’ve been able to play with Heinrich for quite a few years at the Springboks, I don’t think it will make too big a difference in my role as eighthman.”
ANA