Du Preez holds key to Bok success
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer, who on Wednesday named the most experienced Bok side ever to take on Japan in the their opening Pool B game, made no secret of how highly he values the 33-year-old.
Du Preez, who has hardly played this year after injuries his knee while on duty with his Japanese club, has been named on the bench for SA's opening World Cup match against Japan .
The starting XV, led by Jean de Villiers at inside centre, has 880 caps to their name – 44 more than the previous mark when South Africa played Australia in the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal.
The Japanese – who will want to put on a good show as they host the 2019 World Cup – have never threatened to make it through to the knockout stages, but Meyer said Springbok players who played in Japan said they could be in for a nasty surprise.
Despite not having had any game time since March, Meyer feels the veteran No.9 is still a world class player.
"He is improving all the time and he has been superb in training this week," Meyer told a media scrum at the team's training base in Eastbourne, England.
"His confidence is there, he just needs game time now," he said of Du Preez – who played the last of his 70 Tests against Scotland in Port Elizabeth in June last year.
"I still believe he is probably the best scrumhalf in the world and he has showed some great touches in the last week or two.
"He is one of the main guys in our campaign and we need to get him going.
"The great thing about this team at the moment is that there is not a great difference in quality between the 31 players in the squad."
Du Preez's intimate knowledge of the Japanese and their coach, Eddie Jones, will also come in handy.
Du Preez confirmed that he has been passing on some 'intelligence' to his Bok teammates and the coaching staff.
"Over the last two weeks, every now and then, the coach [Meyer] has come and asked for a little bit of input," he said at the South Africa base on the south coast of England.
Du Preez was recruited for Suntory Sungoliath by Australian Eddie Jones, Japan's coach.
"We must expect a quick battle. Eddie has been preparing for this game for the last year, so expect there is a lot of detailed planning on their side.
"Our guys are not too familiar with the Japanese team but we are letting them know not to underestimate them.
"Hopefully that filters through and we won't be complacent at the weekend. It will be a tough battle.
"Eddie is one of the best technical coaches in the world. He will have prepared the Japanese team thoroughly. I expect he'll throw in a few surprises but we'll have to adapt."
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