Div: Unfair not to try Bismarck
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers believes robust hooker Bismarck du Plessis must be given a chance to stake his claim in the starting XV.
Du Plessis has been in outstanding for this year and he is a rare breed of hooker able to create as many turnovers as a top quality loose forward, which he demonstrated in the second half against the Wallabies.
The conundrum remains how to get Du Plessis in the team when the captain, John Smit, plays in the same position, which lead to the experimentation with Smit at prop.
However, De Villiers is satisfied that Smit now has the game time he needed to get under his belt, therefore, Du Plessis can make his case for inclusion.
“John is ready for the World Cup and if you look at where he was in the first game in Sydney and where he is now, we’ve achieved what we wanted to,” De Villiers said.
“To keep the competition [for hooker] going I have to keep John and Bissie [Bismarck du Plessis] on their toes, and to go to the World Cup without giving Bissie a chance would have been unfair to him, unfair to the team and unfair to the country.”
Du Plessis revealed that he had been earmarked to the All Blacks Test for some time and can’t wait to get stuck into the action.
“The last game before the World Cup is a really big challenge for us and we want to be on an upward curve,” he said.
“Unfortunately John had a bit of an injury with his elbow, but I’m happy the coach has given me an opportunity.
“He [De Villiers] spoke to me quite a while ago and told be I’d be playing in this game.”
The tough farmer from Bloemfontein dismissed suggestions that a one-on-one battle between him and Keven Mealamu would be a major feature in the match.
“It is always a physical battle against New Zealand and I’m not playing against Keven Mealamu, but rather against all 15 of them,” he explained.
Another Springbok front row happy to be involved in the Bok setup again is prop Gurthrö Steenkamp.
The big loosehead has had a number of injuries over the past year since he was named South African player of the year for 2010.
“We have high standards in our side and while we know that last Saturday [against Australia] wasn’t good enough, but there were positives and the oaks really put their hearts in,” Steenkamp said.
“The people of Port Elizabeth don’t get many opportunities to see the Springboks, so we hope we can repay their support for us.”
