Nienaber: 'That is how we do it'
REACTION: South Africa sought and received permission to name their team ahead of the 48-hour World Rugby deadline, because it suits them.
There is nothing sinister or underhanded about the decision to move the Springbok team announcement forward, from the scheduled timeslot on Friday, to Wednesday evening.
South Africa will start their World Cup title defence against Scotland at Stade de Marseille on Sunday.
The published tournament schedule had the Bok team announcement down for Friday – 48 hours before kick-off.
However, confirmation that Thursday’s media briefing was moved forward to Wednesday evening (19.00) sparked a media frenzy and the resultant conspiracy theories about sotto voce strategies.
However, Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber dismissed the notion that they were playing mind games.
“It’s just the way we do things,” Nienaber told a media briefing, after naming his squad at their Toulon base.
“We’ve always done it this way.”
The Boks are known for naming their teams early – usually Tuesday for a Saturday game and Monday for a Friday Test.
However, the World Cup tournament guidelines dictated that teams should be announced 48 hours before kick-off.
That saw the team announcement media briefing penned in for Friday.
Nienaber said they felt they wanted to stick to a routine that works for the team.
“The players knew the team yesterday [on Tuesday] before first training session,” he explained.
“[Announcing it this early] stops speculation, as it will come out anyway.
“We’ve always been transparent about it.
“We’re getting it out of the way so we can focus fully on Scotland.”
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Nienaber named an experienced side that features seven players who took part in the World Cup Final in 2019, when the Boks crushed England to lift the Webb Ellis Trophy.
“We are pleased with the squad depth we have built in the last few months, and we believe this group of players strikes the right balance to achieve the result we need against Scotland,” said Nienaber.
“We are very excited about this occasion.
“We’ve been building for this World Cup for the last four years and we are thrilled to get our campaign started.
“We’ve been working hard in the last few weeks to make sure we are as prepared as possible going into this match and we are fully aware of the challenge that awaits us.”
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