Fifty points is not a bad start
Former Springbok, Stormers, Western Province and Bath centre Robbie Fleck is a very welcome addition to sport365s columnists section, with Fleckie looking back at Saturday’s first Test against England and previewing this weekend’s return fixture at Loftus.
Scoring 50 points against any team is a good effort, never mind 50-plus against England – the current world champions. I don’t think Jake White could have asked for more on Saturday and the guys would have taken plenty of confidence from the win, although, it must be said, this was not the strongest England team.
I was part of the Springbok team that took 50 points against England at Twickenham back in 2002, but I don’t think you can compare that England team – the best in the world at the time – to this one, and that Bok team from ’02 was a much stronger team than this England side. Also, a few of our guys – John Smit, Deon Carstens, CJ van der Linde, Joe van Niekerk, AJ Venter, André Pretorius, Butch James – are still around at the moment; I can’t see many from this England team even making their World Cup squad later this year.
Looking ahead to the second Test, I think it’s a crucial weekend, especially with this being a World Cup year. We put 50 past them last week; we now need to put 60 past them and show an improvement in our game – the guys need to show Jake that they can build on the Bloemfontein game.
If I was Jake I would stick with the same line-up for Pretoria, although I do not believe that Danie Rossouw is an international No.8 and Ricky Januarie battled at scrum-half – they do, however, deserve a second chance. (Under the circumstances – with the 8-9 axis not quite firing – I thought Butch had a good game at fly-half. Also, Ruan Pienaar needs to get a look-in some time, he was brilliant off the bench.)
Don’t get me wrong about Danie Rossouw, I definitely think he is good enough to be in the Bok 22; I just don’t think he is a natural No.8, he is more of a blindside flanker or, in my opinion, a lock. I understand Jake’s rationale about wanting to play Danie at No.8 in the northern hemisphere, especially after his performances there in November, the go-forward that he gives and his line-out abilities – but I think somebody like Pierre Spies or Bob Skinstad could find themselves getting a start sooner, rather than later.
Spies is just as physical as Danie, he is quicker and because he is so athletic I think he is a much better line-out option than Danie, too. But Jake has a specific plan with him and I would not be surprised to see Jake finally settle on a loose trio of Schalk Burger, Juan Smith and Spies – with the likes of Skinstad, Venter and Rossouw as back-ups, a healthy list of players to choose from. Also, with guys like Rossouw or AJ in the 22, they wouldn’t need to go with a specialist lock on the bench, which gives them even more variety and options.
One thing Jake has got spot-on is the selection of one Robert Brian Skinstad, somebody I know particularly well. Without trying to be bias, I am not surprised at all that he is back in the Bok squad. Bob was brought back to South Africa for one specific reason – to help the younger guys in a World Cup year. Bob has tons of experience, both on and off the field, and his mere presence is a boost to the youngsters around him. As a former Springbok captain, Bob – along with someone like AJ Venter – also offers plenty of support to John Smit and he will help mould this team into a formidable unit. A unit that I think will definitely get into the semi-finals of the World Cup… a unit that I like to think can even go on and win it!
It’s amazing to think that Bob and Percy Montgomery were not picked for the 2003 World Cup squad (through no fault of their own), as I think both of them would have made a massive difference to the Springboks back then. I know it is a cliché, but you cannot buy experience – especially World Cup experience – something that Percy and Bob have in abundance. Whilst Bob has not had as many opportunities this year, Percy is playing out of his skin at the moment, which is a huge boost to the likes of Francois Steyn, who has an 82-cap star to look up to and aspire towards, pretty much like I had in someone like Henry Honiball when I first played for South Africa.
Jake has tried very hard to keep together a core of experience players over the past few years and instil a sense of pride and tradition in the Bok jersey; it will serve the team very well ahead of the World Cup. England had Martin Johnson, Jason Leonard, Neil Back, Mike Catt and Will Greenwood in the 2003 World Cup and they all played a central role for Clive Woodward. Jake also sees value in having experienced players around, something he has stressed time and time again, but he won’t just pick them for the sake of it; the dropping of De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert, the two most capped centres in SA, is proof of this.
Enjoy the second Test, here’s hoping for 60-plus points from the Boks.
Until next week,
Robbie Fleck
Fleckie’s ‘Last Word’ will once again be appearing weekly on iafrica.com – and also on sport365 and rugby365 – so log on next week for some more opinions and in-depth analysis from the 31-times capped Springbok centre. Also, feel free to mail Fleckie at sport365@365digital.co.za with any comments or queries.
