Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has a few tough calls to make after Bryan Habana and John Smit struggled through Saturday’s Tri-Nations Test against the Wallabies at Loftus Versfeld.

News24

While man of the match Francois Hougaard made it clear afterwards that the Boks intend crushing the Aussies in Saturday’s second Test in Bloemfontein, it will be difficult to do that if all the senior players are not performing well.

If Smit inspired his troops with some inspirational words for their comeback in the 44-31 victory, it would have been his most significant contribution as he was virtually invisible on the field.

Habana was a lot more visible, but for the wrong reasons. He conceded two tries. The first came after he dropped the ball from an Aussie kick-off and the second when he was caught in possession when he tried to run from deep inside his own 22m area.

“He missed one ball and slipped. I don’t think there is a lot to be worried about,” De Villiers said when asked about Habana’s form.

De Villiers seldom criticises the performances of his players in public. However, he probably would have thought hard about calling up Bismarck du Plessis, Gio Aplon or even Bjorn Basson.

Sport24 learned on Sunday evening that Aplon will link up with the Boks on Monday.

Frans Steyn also had an unhappy day in the No 15 jersey at Loftus, but it will be counter-productive to axe him now.

De Villiers made the point on Saturday night that some of his senior players are exhausted and that is probably the case with Smit and Habana.

Sports scientist Prof. Tim Noakes listed Smit and Habana among the players who should not have toured Europe in November last year because by then they had already played more than the recommended 1600 minutes for the season.

Chiliboy Ralepelle made an immediate impact when he replaced Smit on Saturday and twice won turnover possession for the Boks.

However, Du Plessis’ record for the Boks suggests that he should be their first choice for the No 2 jersey.

De Villiers admitted that the workload on senior players like Habana, Smit and Victor Matfield was too heavy.

“I have to look after them and make some difficult decisions over the next few months. If it works, it will make South Africa very proud and happy.”

This could point to the players possibly not touring Britain and Ireland in November rather than there being drastic steps straight away.

Hougaard’s performances at scrumhalf in the last two games also showed how effective young players can be when introduced at the right time.

A major positive from the Loftus Test is the character that the Boks showed to fight back after conceding three tries inside the first 10 minutes.

Smit acknowledged that the lack of accuracy in the first half was a problem.

“When last did you see Bryan knock the ball or slip? It’s the kind of mistakes we’ll have to cut out. It’s not the kind of Test rugby that will win the World Cup,” he said.

Hougaard is aiming for a spectacular victory on Saturday.

“I don’t think we’re going for 17-10, we want to crush them this time.”