Patrick Lambie
Cobus Reinach
Rugby World Cup winners JP Pietersen and Schalk Burger will start Saturday’s second Test in the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour against England at Twickenham as the Springbok match-23 is retained from last weekend.
The five changes to the team are straight swaps between the starting line-up and the bench. Along with Pietersen and Burger, Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has handed starts to hooker Adriaan Strauss and the halfback pair of Cobus Reinach and Pat Lambie.
Cornal Hendricks, Handré Pollard, Francois Hougaard, Teboho Mohoje and Bismarck du Plessis will start on the bench.
“We’ve accepted our performance against Ireland last weekend was not up to scratch and everyone in the touring squad has put up their hands and dug deep this week,” said Meyer. “We’ve really worked hard at fixing the mistakes we made and the challenge is now to put that into action on Saturday.”
Meyer said the changes were not a knee-jerk reaction following the result in Dublin, but rather in line with rotational changes that he had in mind before the start of the tour.
Strauss, Lambie and Pietersen all started in the Springboks’ last Test at Twickenham, two years ago, while Saturday’s match will be Reinach’s first in the starting team.
“Pat started at Twickenham for us two years ago and did very well,” said Meyer. “He’s playing well at the moment and I wanted to give him the opportunity to start. Pat is tactically very astute and even though he’s still pretty young, he’s got a lot of experience.
“Adriaan, Schalk and JP have all started a number of Tests this year and they will slot in easily – we decided beforehand that we wanted to start all of these players in one of the first two Tests on tour.
“It’s a big occasion for Cobus but he would not have been here if we didn’t believe he could deliver the goods, and he’ll be next to his provincial team-mate in Pat.
“As usual, we’re also expecting our replacements to raise the intensity when they’re sent on and Bismarck, who had a very good game in Dublin especially in the set-pieces, ‘Oupa’, Francois, Cornal and Handré will provide important cover off the bench.”
Springbok team:
15 Willie le Roux (22 caps, 35 points)
14 JP Pietersen (57 caps, 90 points)
13 Jan Serfontein (17 caps, 5 points)
12 Jean de Villiers (Captain – 103 caps, 135 points)
11 Bryan Habana (104 caps, 280 points)
10 Pat Lambie (37 caps, 81 points)
9 Cobus Reinach (3 caps, 0 points)
8 Duane Vermeulen (26 caps, 10 points)
7 Schalk Burger (74 caps, 65 points)
6 Marcell Coetzee (23 caps, 30 points)
5 Victor Matfield (Vice-captain – 118 caps, 35 points)
4 Eben Etzebeth (30 caps, 0 points)
3 Jannie du Plessis (61 caps, 5 points)
2 Adriaan Strauss (41 caps, 25 points)
1 Tendai Mtawarira (62 caps, 10 points)
Replacements:
16 Bismarck du Plessis (67 caps, 45 points)
17 Trevor Nyakane (10 caps, 5 points)
18 Coenie Oosthuizen (18 caps, 10 points)
19 Bakkies Botha (84 caps, 35 points)
20 Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje (4 caps, 0 points)
21 Francois Hougaard (33 caps, 25 points)
22 Handré Pollard (7 caps, 61 points)
23 Cornal Hendricks (10 caps, 25 points)
Date: Saturday 15 November
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-Off: 16:30 SA Time (14:30 BST & GMT)
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Jérôme Garcès (France), Nick Briant (New Zealand)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Stats and facts:
- The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 778 Test caps (343 in the backline and 435 in the forwards), while there are a further 233 caps worth of experience on the bench.
- South Africa and England have played each other 36 times since 1906, with the Springboks winning 22 Tests, losing 12 and two were drawn. The Springboks have scored 749 points and 69 tries and conceded 564 points and 39 tries for an average score of 21-16.
- South Africa and England last met on 24 November 2012 at Twickenham in London. The Springboks won by 16-15 thanks to a try by Willem Alberts and 11 points from the boot of Patrick Lambie (one conversion and three penalty goals). England kicked five penalties, three by Owen Farrell and two by Toby Flood.
- Jean de Villiers will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok centre, with 88 Tests in this position and will captain South Africa for the 32nd time, placing him third behind John Smit (83) and Gary Teichmann (36).
- Victor Matfield will extend his record as the most capped Springbok in history (118 Tests). He will also extend his record of 118 Tests as a lock and will also extend his record as the oldest Springbok ever at 37 years 181 days.
- Bryan Habana will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok wing, with 103 Tests in this position. If he scores a try, he will extend his record of 56 Test tries for South Africa.
- If he goes on and scores a try Bismarck du Plessis will extend his record of nine Test tries for South Africa as a hooker.
- Schalk Burger will extend his record as the most capped Springbok flanker in history (72 caps). If he scores a try, he will become the sole record-holder for most Test tries as a flanker (11), a record he currently shares with Juan Smith.
- Willie le Roux, Cornal Hendricks, Duane Vermeulen, Jannie du Plessis and Bismarck du Plessis have played in all 10 Tests for the Springboks in 2014. Bryan Habana and Tendai Mtawarira have both missed only one Test in 2014.
- Schalk Burger (Jnr) and Cobus Reinach are sons of Springboks. Schalk Burger (Snr) played six Tests for South Africa (1984-1986) and Jaco Reinach four Tests for South Africa in 1986. They played together in all four Tests against the New Zealand Cavaliers in 1986.
- It will be the fourth time in history that a Springbok team will have three centurions in the starting line-up. The three previous times were against Australia and New Zealand in the Rugby Championship and against Ireland last week.
- It will be Heyneke Meyer’s 35th Test in charge of the Springboks since he took over in 2012. Of the previous 34 Tests South Africa have won 24, lost eight and drew twice.
- The referee is Steve Walsh of Australia. It will be his 18th Test involving South Africa. This is a new record for a referee in Tests involving SA, breaking the record of himself and Alain Rolland. Of the previous 17 Tests the Springboks have won 13, lost one and three were drawn. His last Test involving South Africa was in August this year against Argentina in Salta in the Rugby Championship – a game that the Springboks won 33-31.
Springbok Test match records at Twickenham:
- Most points – 21 by Jannie de Beer (6p, 1d) against Australia on 30 October, 1999.
- Most tries – two by Chester Williams against England on 18 November, 1995.
- Most conversions – three by Ruan Pienaar against England on 22 November, 2008.
- Most penalty goals – six by Jannie de Beer against Australia on 30 October, 1999.
- Most drop goals – four by Andre Pretorius against England on 25 November, 2006.
- The Springboks have played 18 times at Twickenham, winning ten and losing eight. They have scored 283 points and 27 tries and conceded 296 points and 26 tries for an average score of 16-17.
Had Carter been 5 years younger*
@ Victoriabok:
There are many players we could add. We have no one left to play u19 Currie Cup 😀
I disagree about Willie though, he developed pretty nicely, I think the problem with those players is just temperament and calming down and not attempting a match changed moment every moment and bide their time. All they need is just 2 magic moments a game.
@ MacroBok:
But Macro…Lambie has got plenty game time. He just has not started a match. 😉
I wonder who is the “neutral” one in this little discussion. You?
The one who admitted that he will “always defend” HM? 😉
@ Nama:
So he is not allowed to start a match?
@ Nama:
You ridiculous at times 😆
@ MacroBok:
“…you were saying that Lambie does not need game time and we should play Pollard in every single game?”
Twisting my words to suit your agenda of “defending” HM. Comprehension does seem to be a problem with you young boys.
Let me put it to you in simple terms: If the Boks were victorious on Saturday, Pollard would’ve played this coming Saturday. The reason why Lambie is starting is because the Boks lost and not because HM decided, before the tour started, that Lambie would be in the run on 15 against England.
Clear now? Let me know if it is still to difficult to understand. 😆
MacroBok wrote:
It will pay for itself, If they don’t return with Frans’ attitude
The problem with Willie is when he can’t pull off his game breaking plays, he gets rattled and loses his confidence and then he’s totally useless
@ Nama:
Not at all, you choose to see something sinister in Lambie playing… (Schalk, Strauss, JPP and Reinach the team changes infact)… I just brought up that it has been done before that the Springboks go on tour with a plan of using certain players for certain games and that it is conceivable. This is debate is extremely retarded and now you are lecturing me on “putting it simply” like I did in post 100.
@ Victoriabok:
I agree, he is a “confidence” player that likes to be involved and he has not been very successful with players like Pollard and Goosen at ten, he is a much better combination with Morne at ten who prefers to take the back seat and gives Willie free reign on attack.
@ MacroBok:
You’re right. It is retarded.
Arguing that HM PLANNED to replace Pollard with Lambie, only two games after the former had a blinder against the All Blacks, is extremely retarded.
If it was the plan to start Lambie next week, against Italy, it would be much more believable.
MacroBok wrote:
You need your forwards to dominate the rucks to get fast ball for Willie, we didn’t do it Saturday
I hope Schalk and Eben fires up the forwards
Adriaan started well on Saturday before the French A-hole screwed us again
@ Nama:
No I am saying it is conceivable, I did not put up figments of my imagination as “facts”.
@ Nama:
Wat maak dit saak?
Lambie speel Saterdag en ek hoop hy speel goed
@ Victoriabok:
For the springboks, Strauss has been our best player at 2 this year, he has had one of his best years imho…
We will have to hope for a much improved performance at the breakdown on Saturday… It is quite funny, this year everytime we win it is because of our hard work at the breakdown and how everyone is a fetcher, when we lose it is because we missed a Louw or a Brussouw, The Irish did such a good job at countering us, I am sure the English will try it as well and try to frustrate us.
@ Victoriabok:
Ek ook! Go Lambie
MacroBok wrote:
Ons het seker die beste fetcher in die land op die oomblik daar, ek weet nie hoekom prober hulle hom nie van die bank af nie?
@ Victoriabok:
Wie?
@ Victoriabok:
Dit is verbasend hoe still almal die week is oor Coenie.
@ Victoriabok:
Ek ook. Dis hoekom ek al in my 1ste post daarop gewys het dat hy 4/4 in Europa is as begin losskakel.
Ek het ‘n probleem met HM, nie met Lambie nie.
Nama wrote:
So daar het jy dit 😆
MacroBok wrote:
Jaco Kriel, hy moet ook ‘n kans kry
Volgens die Vodacom Stats app was Coenie 10 minute op die veld… hy het niks gedoen nie, nie die bal geraak of iemand getackle nie 😆
@ Victoriabok:
Blykbaar sukkel Marcel met sy dyspier. Ek hoop ook Kriel kry kans, by ver die CB speler van die jaar gewees.
@ MacroBok:
Daar het wie, wat?
Was dit ‘n geheim?
@ Nama:
Jis maar jys n ekstra bitter knaap vanaand 😉
Article by the doc Venter
If ever there was a time for perspective, it would be after a defeat to Ireland in Dublin.
In medical terms, a one-off event is referred to as an anomaly and Saturday’s performance fits the mould in that respect. I believe that whatever you do, whether as a general practitioner or a rugby aficionado, you simply cannot base your decisions upon anomalies.
After one game, for ‘expert’ pundits to announce that the set-piece is no longer of worth, because the Springboks bossed that facet of play but still lost the match, is totally absurd.
I’d encourage the public to look at the game more deeply and back their own opinion more.
To read something into everything is dangerous, and that’s why coaches end up going down 12 different routes and following false leads when they don’t know what they’re looking for.
The fact of the matter is that the Springboks weren’t as bad as the scoreline suggests. I believe that, had the Boks taken their kicks for goal and scored when the opportunity presented itself, then they would have proved comfortable victors this past weekend.
Springbok supporters out there will say, “Well, we didn’t”, and my riposte is simple: that’s the nature of professional sport. In my book, the beauty of sport is its unpredictability.
Reminiscent of the quarterfinal defeat to Australia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, South Africa dominated most all facets of the game and still came up short on the scoreboard.
Sir Clive Woodward’s comment this week basically implies that the Springboks were not up for it against Ireland, which is simply not true. The Springboks never lost the collisions, the set-piece duel and, despite public perception, the Boks didn’t lose the tactical battle either.
The only tactical mistake made was not to kick at goal, most notably in the first stanza. I don’t believe that the concept of being more up for it or less up for it comes into play.
I must stress that it doesn’t come down to effort but rather execution. We must remember that rugby is a dynamic sport which happens quickly. A heightened level of accuracy doesn’t stem from a team talk where the coach says, “Boys, this week we must make less errors.”
Of course Francois Hougaard would not have wanted to knock on those two balls behind the scrum. If you get into the 22 or are three meters from the line, for that matter, and don’t even come away with three points that is more of a pressing issue, in my opinion.
A LACK OF AWARENESS RATHER THAN EFFORT
Sometimes we try to read more into a result than we actually should and emotion clouds our better judgement. If you examine the game in the cold light of day it tends to take on a different complexion. I believe the Boks’ failing was a lack of awareness rather than effort.
As coaches, we often get it wrong when we offer comment immediately after the game. I maintain that we did not lack intensity against Ireland, we rather lacked execution.
If I was to address the Springbok side ahead of Saturday, I would say to the players that we need more set-piece dominance, more physical defence, more territory and possession and more attacking situations in the opposition 22, because we know that statistically that culminates into points.
In the game against Ireland, it didn’t prove to be the case but generally we know that it does. Therefore let’s endeavour to execute more effectively on match day.
As outlined last week, Ireland were always going to be a well-organised team who would prove hard to beat. And in England, the Springboks are faced with a similar challenge.
However, England will bring a greater ball-carrying threat on attack, a better set-piece and a line speed-driven defence, which relies on creating turn-overs.
In actual fact, England is a more accomplished side than Ireland and, if the Springboks don’t capitalise upon their opportunities against their hosts at Twickenham, they will lose again.
When pundits offer an opinion on television, for example, are you able to weigh up their arguments and form your own opinion or are you prone to regurgitate their points of view?
To Ashwin and his fanboys? 😆
MacroBok wrote:
Ons moet ook nie vergeet dat die ouens vyf weke laas ‘n wedstryd gespeel het
Dit maak nie saak hoe goed jy is nie jy verloor wedstrydfiksheid en jy’s nie so skerp nie
Eben het baie lanklaas gespeel en groot ouens soos hy vat lank voor hulle wedstrydfiks is
Nama wrote:
Ons sal nooit tevrede wees met die afrigter se spankeuse nie, maar dis sy werk en hy gaan dit doen soos wat hy wil
Ek sou graag vir Brussouw wou kansgee, hy sou Saterdag beter as Oupa gewees het
Ek is spyt oor Kockott wat vir die Franse speel, hy sou beter as Hougie en Reinach gewees het, en hy kan pale toe skop
@ Victoriabok:
Ja, Australia en New zealand het tussen in ook self n game of twee gespeel na die RC, maar ek wil nie se ons was verroes nie want ons het so baie goed reg gedoen, dalk so n strafskop of twee pale toe net die ouens kalmeer het… maar dit is in die verlede, ons sal heelwat beter moet wees, ons voorspelers sal harder moet werk om skoop bal te gee vir Reinach en kie.
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