So the big day has arrived, at least for Peter de Villiers. During the last four years he has persisted with an unwavering belief in his previous world cup winners, to such an extent that he went to France to go “collect” John Smit. During this time his inability to expose younger players has seen very few newcomers to the seen. Heinrich Brussow was called into the squad only when, during the Cheetahs match of the British and Irish Lions, he showed an uncanny ability to pilfer ball from opposition rucks. Under pressure from pundits and media, and the injury to Schalk Burger, Peter De Villiers had little choice but to bring the newcomer into the scene of Test Rugby. After a very successful British and Irish Lions tour and the 2009 Tri Nations, Brussow has virtually seen no International rugby, in fact it has been 21 months since he has last worn the Springbok jumper.

The diminutive Gio Aplon, after a very good performance during the 2010 Super 14 season, was drawn into the Springbok squad where he has done very little wrong, defensively he does punch above his weight, but the question still remains whether his size isn’t somewhat of an issue on defence.

Juan de Jongh as partner of the very experienced and world class Jacque Fourie had an outstanding season in the Super 14 in 2010 and combined with Jacque Fourie to form an integral part of the now much touted Stormers defence.

Willem Alberts, after leaving a very poor Lions outfit for the greener pastures of the Sharks, has proven to be a relevation at No 8. With Pierre Spies often being found out in close quarters, Willem Alberts has simply been superb and revels in the rough stuff.

Francois Louw was been drawn in with varied success, and I am not convinced that he could effectively fill the shoes of any of the incumbent loose forwards.

Francois Hougaard has been a breath of fresh air in the Springbok squad, filled with world cup stars. He is an exciting young prospect and will surely be the next Springbok half back.

Patrick Lambie is seen by many as the next best thing since Naas Botha, he has all round skills, an ability to create and definitely the most exciting flyhalf to come out of SA since Andrew Mehrtens ( well he has South African parents). In the recent past Peter De Villiers has exposed a number of youngsters such as Bjorn Basson, Lwasi Mvovo and Gerhard Mostert to the scene as well. However it is seen to be too little too late. Overall most of the promising new talent that Peter de Villiers has brought into the fold was out of necessity, and only when injuries took its toll to the point where no senior players were available to do duty.

So we are back to the point where his faith in the old guard will be tested, and it is questionable how many of these youngsters will make it to Rugby World Cup 2011. Peter de Villiers has already shown that he would rather bring the 33 year old Butch James back into the fold than trust a talented youngster like Patrick Lambie.

Today is the beginning of his preparation to retain the World Cup, previous results doesn’t matter.

The Test matches left against the Wallabies today and the All Blacks next weekend will provide a good measure of whether Peter De Villiers is going in the right direction by holding on, and in some opinions too long, onto the men that served Jake White so well. Even if they do go into this match undercooked and rusty, a win is the only outcome that is acceptable. The South African public is fed up with the performances over the last 18 months and no amount of excuses regarding injury or circumstances of law changes will suffice. Now is the time when Peter de Villiers will have to put his money where his mouth is! Will the antiquated game plan be enough to bring the William Webb Ellis trophy back home and will they be able to put together 9 more wins to retain the cup?

We’ll see!