Watch out Beijing - here comes De Wet
'He's been a bit flat-footed of late' – White
Western Province centre De Wet Barry could have an extra spring in his step on Saturday when he lines up at inside centre for the Springboks against France at Newlands.
The 27-year-old, who celebrates his 28th birthday on Saturday, recently spent some time with a sprint coach in Stellenbosch, under the auspices of Springbok fitness guru Derik Coetzee.
"In an ideal world I would've liked to have spent more time with him," Barry told this website. "[But] it's given me another dimension to work on. As a professional sportsman, I believe there's always something you can work on and it was a great opportunity to do just that."
So how about the Beijing Olympics in 2008?
"No, there's no chance of that," chuckled Barry, the starting No.12 during SA's Tri-Nations-winning 2004 season, "no chance at all."
Springbok coach Jake White explained his thinking behind Barry's initial non-selection this season: "Along with Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez, De Wet's played more rugby than anybody else. Inside centres and No.6s make the most tackles, so he was in particular need of a break.
"I decided to give him three weeks off and he spent some time with a speed coach. He's been a bit flat-footed of late; I don't think this will make him run the 100 metres at the Olympics, but it will sharpen him up a little."
Whilst White clearly does not want to put too much pressure on his 38-Test veteran ahead of the weekend (resisting temptations to compare Saturday's game to that Tri-Nations match against the Wallabies in 2003 – when he made a huge impact on defence after a period of inactivity), it is as good a chance as any for Barry to give his coach a gentle nudge ahead of next year's World Cup, which will be held in France.
"De Wet's been around the block," said White.
"He's been left out before, he knows Jean will be back soon and that Wynand's in the mix, so he knows he has to perform. There's a suggestion that South African rugby players tend to perform when they have their backs against the wall, so I guess this is as good an example as any."
By Howard Kahn
