Cardiff – This week the newspapers here have been bursting with stories from the Welsh rugby camp about Saturday’s much anticipated clash between the home team and South Africa.
There has been much talk about the Dragons slaying the Springboks – a little too much talk perhaps, and on Friday Springbok captain Jean de Villiers gave a candid smile and said: “We will do our talking on the field.”
To be fair to the Welsh, the mood in the Principality is not one of arrogance or boastfulness – just optimism that they have the team to beat Southern Hemisphere opposition for the first time since 2008, when they beat Australia in Cardiff.
Under coach Warren Gatland, they have won just one of 22 Test matches against South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. But the Welsh mood is chipper now. They thumped England 30-3 in Cardiff in March to win the Six Nations and then provided the majority of the players and management for the Lions squad that humiliated the Wallabies in June.
“A lot has been said in the media, we have taken note,” De Villiers said, adding that he had noticed an unusual amount of hype for this match compared to previous visits he has had with the Boks on end-of-year tours.
“Wales must prepare in whatever way they want and say whatever they want. That is up to them,” the captain said. “For us, it is just business as usual. It is another massive Test against a top quality team and we know that to win, we have to deliver our best possible rugby for 80 minutes, and after the game we will assess how we played and make our statements.
“It is another tough job at hand. We know what lies ahead ... and that is a fierce battle against a passionate, talented side,” De Villiers said. “But we know what we are capable of and we know we are as well prepared for this game as we were for any in the Rugby Championship. Maybe we are even better prepared.”
De Villiers is alluding to the fact that the Boks are coming off a more than satisfactory Rugby Championship campaign in which they beat Australia and Argentina home and away and performed with distinction against the world’s best team, the All Blacks, particularly in the October 5 finale at Ellis Park.
“This team has come a long way in the last couple of months,” he said. “We have improved drastically in certain areas (especially on attack), and hopefully we can take that into the game. Obviously we did not end the Rugby Championship on a high after losing at home to New Zealand but we took a lot of positives out of that game and we want to build on that. We are not going to retreat into our shells because of the conditions in the Northern Hemisphere, but we are also not going to be stupid with our tactics.”
In other words, the Boks will be positive today but also pragmatic. It has rained the entire week in Cardiff and although the Stadium roof will be closed this evening, the ground will still be wet and heavy underfoot after exposure to the elements.
“We are not fussed about conditions,” De Villiers said. “The basic game plan stays exactly the same and it has been more or less the same now for almost two years (since Heyneke Meyer took over). The way we play in the wet and the way we play in dry conditions is no different – it is just the decision-making that needs to be better when conditions are uncomfortable.”
De Villiers admitted that the success of this tour hinged on a victory for the Boks today.
Independent on Saturday