Boks digging deep for World Cup
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Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer says he is happy with the depth they have built ahead of the World Cup next year.
Although his side have been hit hard by injuries this year, it has been something of a blessing in disguise with more young players gaining Test experience.
"There are a lot of great players that are injured, and that was our problem this year that we never got continuity in our play. I felt in the last two games that we were almost there," he said.
The most glaring problem area for Meyer this year has been his halfback combination, with almost zero continuity, but he was encouraged by the performance of Francois Hougaard against Australia at Newlands as well as the impact made by Pat Lambie and Cobus Reinach off the bench.
"For Francois [Hougaard] to come in as a third-choice and have a game like that we are really blessed to have these guys.
"I was really happy for Cobus Reinach at the end, the plan was to put him up a bit earlier but with Bryan [Habana] injured, Pat [Lambie] coming on was under pressure a little bit there," he said.
With a number of experienced players also coming off the bench to great effect against Wallabies, Meyer admitted that he will have to make some big calls when it comes to naming his final World Cup squad next year.
"It is great to have these players and we are definitely going to take this into the World Cup, we have a lot of depth now and it is going to be really difficult picking a squad for the World Cup.
"That is what we want, a lot of youngsters came through and a lot of old guys came through so we are really in a great position," he said.
A year out from the World Cup Meyer's management of his players will be key, especially considering the impact made by the heavily experienced bench at Newlands.
If he gets the balance right there will be enough depth at his disposal to ensure that he does not have to rest his first-choice players completely as has been done in previous World Cup years.
By Michael de Vries
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