Play to our strengths

rugby365.com columnist Robbie Fleck finds himself in Bermuda at present, but he has made time to look ahead to Saturday’s Test between the Boks and Wales in Cardiff…

It certainly has been a while, and sorry about missing out last week, but it’s been quite a busy time for me.

In fact, as I write this column, I am about to board a plane to Bermuda for the Bermuda World Classics. (For the record, those that got my facebook message in the Cape Town Tens group – sorry, my mind is playing tricks with me, it’s not Tens, but 15-a-side we’ll be playing!)

I will be playing for the Elan SA Legends team once again, alongside the likes of my old mate Bob Skinstad, as well as former Bok teammates Braam van Straaten, Deon Kayser and Adrian Garvey.

These tournaments are always the most fun and we’ll be away for 12 days in all, playing three matches and also having a bit of fun off the field.

There is a huge street party planned for Friday evening – to ‘open’ the tournament – while our first match, against France, is on Sunday. Our coach, the one and only Ian McIntosh, arrives on Sunday evening, so we will be a rudderless bunch until the ‘Master’ officially takes charge…

We’re the defending champions at the Bermuda World Classics and we won’t go down without a fight… France, the British Lions, the USA, Ireland, Canada and Argentina – watch out, we’re not planning on giving up our crown!

The beauty of tournaments like these is the camaraderie that you build up away from the field. I know a few cocktails on a beautiful beach in Bermuda sounds like a tough way to spend almost two weeks, but it’s a great way to finally get to know guys you used to play against in a relaxed environment like this.

Of course, it’s not just all play and no work, and I will definitely be doing a bit of networking for the Cape Town Tens and also for the inaugural Rugby Expo – I am one of their ambassadors – which takes place in London in the week leading up to the Springbok Test at Twickenham.

Speaking of the Boks, they start their three-Test tour against Wales at the Millennium Stadium this weekend – a tough encounter if ever!

The Welsh, as always, will be fired up for Saturday. However, they will be even more psyched up than normal after their disappointing performances against the Boks in June.

I, for one, was disappointed in their showings here – they lost 43-17 (Bloemfontein) and 37-21 (Pretoria); they really should have performed better after their Six Nations heroics and with Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards at the helm.

This Welsh side has plenty of potential, but making them even more dangerous is the ‘small’ factor that is home ground advantage. I played against Wales in Cardiff in 2000 and, believe me, it is an intimidating place to play. Crowd intimidation aside, the Welsh players are a different animal altogether in front of their home supporters.

Wales have targetted one of their three matches against southern hemisphere opposition this November and they would love nothing more than putting one over a tiring Springbok side that has played 10 Tests this season; not to mention most of the players having also played in the Super 14 and the Currie Cup.

It seems like Peter de Villiers is going to persist with his high-risk, ‘play it as you see it’, approach and although I can’t fault his determination to see this style of play bear fruition, there is something to be said about tempering that tactic on the wetter, heavier fields in the United Kingdom.

A team like Wales – especially with an opportunist like Shane Williams at the forefront – will feed off any simple Bok mistakes in their own half, so the Boks will need to lay a foundation of sorts first, before spreading the ball wide. We can’t afford to toss the ball around ‘willy-nilly’, we will dig our own graves if we attempt to do that.

Regular readers of my column will know that I am a huge fan of an expansive type of game, but, at the same time, I’m also a traditionalist and we need to play to our strengths on this tour. Of course, our forwards pack is a strength and, with the exception of England, we should get well on top – physically – of most teams on this tour.

The difference between South Africa and Wales on Saturday is that our pack is physically superior to theirs and that is where the game will be won.

Moving John Smit from hooker to tighthead prop is a drastic change, and a risky one at that, but John will cope, especially because of the strength of Bismarck du Plessis at hooker. John does, however, need time to grow into that position, I just hope he gets given that time.

Fleckie’s prediction: If we keep it tight initially and allow our pack to dominate, the Boks will take it.

Until next time,
Robbie

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