South Africa’s Springboks have restored a semblance of order and normality again, after the shock loss in Round 1 against Japan, which was followed up by good wins over Samoa and Scotland on the weekend.

The Springboks now top their Rugby World Cup Pool (Pool B), leading Scotland by 1 Log Point (11 points to 10), after the same amount of games and with only 1 Round of Pool stage games left.

Japan is not out of the running in the Pool yet, a further 2 points adrift, but with their only remaining game the one against the USA Eagles and one they could well win as well.

The focus for the Springboks now shift to the game against the USA Eagles on Wednesday evening.

While there has been praise and some redemption for the Springboks and Heyneke Meyer, the job is not yet done.

The only injury concern is that of JP Pietersen, who suffered a knee injury on the weekend against Scotland.

There has been a lot of praise heaped on Handré Pollard for his performance against Scotland, playing next to the captain and general of the day, Fourie du Preez.

Lood de Jager, who was named Man Of The Match against Scotland deserves all the plaudits he is currently getting but he remains focussed and humble in the process, declaring that he’ll defend his country with everything he’s got.

In the meantime, speculation has been rife and a lot of opinion has been bandied about regarding the team selection for the game against USA on Wednesday and one of the 1st questions asked is if Rudy Paige will be drafted into the match-day 23 for the USA clash. Only 2 players have not had any game time yet, Paige and Morné Steyn.

 

 

USA in the sights:

Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer and captain Fourie du Preez warned against any celebrations after their 34 / 16 win over Scotland on Saturday.

South Africa will face a 4 day turn-around before concluding their pool matches against the USA in London’s Olympic Stadium on Wednesday.

The Springboks’ 3 tries were scored by Schalk Burger, JP Pietersen and Bryan Habana, while Handré Pollard added 19 points with the boot through 4 penalty goals, 2 conversions and drop-goal.

Although Meyer and Du Preez were satisfied with the hard-fought victory over a brave Scotland side, they said everything still depends on the next match.

“Every game we’ve played here has been tough and physical,” said Meyer.

“Tomorrow (Sunday) we’re off to London and we’ll have 1 proper training session before facing the USA, so we’ll have to keep our feet on the ground and keep the focus.

“Everybody in the squad is very focused on the task at hand and we know we’re not there yet. Wednesday’s match will be another tough battle.”

Du Preez, who captained South Africa for the 1st time on Saturday, said: “Like last week, everyone stood up today, and we were under immense pressure yet again. But it’s been an unbelievable experience for me to captain this wonderful team.

“We’ve put everything on the line these past 2 weeks and it’s definitely the most pressure I’ve ever been under. But we’ve not achieved anything yet and we’re still in the same boat – we have to beat the USA to keep alive our chances of reaching the play-offs.

“I thought our defence was great. Scotland only scored 1 try and that was from an intercept and although we lost some momentum at that point and we were under pressure, but Handré slotted that drop goal which took us back to a 10-point gap just to give us a bit of breathing space.”

Meyer concurred and praised the role Du Preez played at St James’ Park: “I think we’ve still got a lot to work on but I have to give Fourie a lot of credit; he was brilliant today and along with Schalk  and Duane they made a massive step up after we lost 2 captains last Saturday.”

 

JP Pietersen in doubt:

The Springboks are sweating over the fitness of JP Pietersen ahead of their last Pool B clash against the USA on Wednesday.

The veteran wing will undergo a fitness test on Monday to determine the extent of his knee injury that he suffered in his team’s 34 / 16 victory over Scotland on Saturday.

Pietersen has been in fine form for the 2-time champions in the tournament so far scoring 4 tries in 2 games – including a hat-trick in the 46 / 6 demolition of Samoa.

His work rate around the field during his team’s last 2 matches has also been outstanding.

With the quarterfinal Round just around the corner head coach Heyneke Meyer might be tempted to rest some of his key players against the USA, including Pietersen.

Meyer still has wing Lwazi Mvovo at his disposal, while a number of other players in the backline can also shift out wide. Fullback Willie le Roux can also be used on the wing, however, Meyer might be tempted to rest him as well.

Meanwhile, the Springboks will know that a win over the Eagles will secure them top spot in Pool B. Scotland and Japan will also be fighting for a qualification spot, however, it is the Scots who are favoured to join the Springboks in the play-offs.

A win over the Eagles will see the Springboks face either Australia or Wales in the quarterfinals.

 

 

How Pollard redeemed himself:

Handré Pollard showed maturity beyond his years to make a crucial play in South Africa’s 34 / 16 victory over Scotland at the weekend.

The 3-tries-to-1 triumph put the Springboks in command of World Cup’s Pool B, with 1 Round of matches remaining.

If the Springboks beat the United States on Wednesday, they will automatically qualify for the play-offs – leaving Scotland and Japan to battle it out for the other quarterfinal spot in the pool.

The 21-year-old flyhalf, Pollard, was very impressive outside the razor-sharp Fourie du Preez – weighing in with 19 points from his right boot that included his 2nd Test drop-goal.

Having taken a commanding 20 / 3 lead into the halftime break, after a clinical 1st half by the Springboks, a Greig Laidlaw penalty and an intercept try brought the Scots right back into the game.

The culprit of the stray pass was Pollard.

However, he redeemed himself with a crucial drop-goal minutes later and another crucial penalty 10 minutes later – from just on 50m out – to again give the Springboks breathing space.

Scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, who captained the team for the 1st time, was full of praise for the young flyhalf’s composed comeback after his earlier error.

“After the intercept try we were under pressure again,” Du Preez said.

“Handré and I thought if we could just get a 10-point gap, just give ourselves a bit of breathing space,” he added.

Du Preez revealed that no words were spoken at the time of the drop-goal.

“Nothing was said, it was just a glance,” the veteran No 9 said, adding: “I was glad he took it – it is a huge credit to him.

“After he made the pass for the intercept try, he made an unbelievable drop-goal and an unbelievable penalty.

“It says a lot about him as a player.

“He is still young, but it is what you do after those mistakes.”

The scrumhalf also spoke about the way in which the Springboks bounced back from their opening match loss to Japan – possibly the biggest setback in Springbok history.

“It’s been immense pressure,” said Du Preez.

“These last 2 games have been 2 of the most pressure games I’ve ever played in my life. Not even the 2007 final was as pressured as these 2 weeks has been.”

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer was also full of praise for his team, but admitted he is facing a few interesting selection posers ahead of the final pool match.

He was particularly pleased with the team’s strong performance in the set pieces.

“I thought the youngsters did brilliantly at the line-outs, that was the winning and losing of the game,” Meyer said.

“I also think the way Fourie handled the No 10, No 12 and No 13 was a real confidence booster .”

The coach spoke of the Springboks being ‘clinical’ in their execution of the game plan.

However, the team selection for United States – with just a 4-day turnaround, while the US had a much longer 10-day turnaround than the Boks – will require some careful planning.

No doubt the Yanks are planning an ambush similar to that Japan jumped on the Springboks.

“We travelled on Sunday, have 1 training session and a captain’s run,” the coach said.

“It is kind of a catch-22. Some players haven’t played a lot, which contributed to the slow start. A lot of those guys are into their 3rd game and we are starting to build some momentum.

“You need fresh players and you also want to give those players more game time – so it will be a balanced approach.”

 

Lood – I’ll defend my country with everything:

Springbok lock Lood de Jager may be a giant when it comes to stature, but his performances of late have every indication that soon he will be a giant of the game as well.

The big lock stepped into Victor Matfield’s shoes with such ease over the weekend against Scotland that there must now be a serious debate whether or not the young Free State lock should be the 1st choice in the position for the rest of the games.

If there was ever an indication of what Springbok rugby should mean to a player, De Jager personifies it, and wears his heart on his sleeve. When he steps onto the field, he admits it is war, and he sees himself as having only one goal – to defend his country’s honour.

“The Springbok jersey is my driving force,” De Jager explained after his man-of-the-match performance against Scotland in Newcastle on Saturday.

“It means the world to me and when I go out there it is literally war. It’s your country against my country.

“You are going to try and defend your country and hopefully I can defend mine better as you on the day.”

De Jager accepted the accolade with a smile, but was more happy he had helped his team to the win.

“It was nice, but I’m more concerned at how I perform for the team,” he added.

“ I’m just really glad we could pull through the game and win. Now we have to move on to Wednesday and recover, get the next task done and get it finished.”

While many may already write off the veteran Matfield, his stats show that he contributes more than his fair share and is consistently 1 of the better Springbok performers. De Jager has no doubt that Matfield is still worth a lot to the Springbok cause and hopes to continue to learn from him.

“I still rate him as the best lineout lock in the world,” De Jager said of Matfield.

“I’m gradually getting there, learning every week and I’ve learnt a lot from him. So hopefully in the years to come I can learn a lot more and hopefully take over that role.”

De Jager says the difference in his form has simply been fitness, with him shedding 6 kilograms in the off season to be the fittest he has ever been. That, as well as character, is what is making the difference for the team at the moment.

“We worked really hard on our fitness, I’m the fittest I’ve ever been. It didn’t look like that for a few stages in the game. I made a few tackles so I got tired. We as a team are a lot fitter, and hopefully we can peak at the right time in this tournament and win the world cup.

“The coach says he picks guys with character, and thus far we have shown a lot of character but we’re nowhere yet, we’ve only won 2 games. There are 4 more games left for us in this competition and hopefully we can win all 4 and bring the cup home.”

Finally De Jager is 1 of the more honest players in the world, rejecting the notion that the wins against Samoa and Scotland would make a difference and bury the shock of losing to Japan in the opening game.

“No, that will be with me forever, that will never leave me,” he answered.

“It will never influence me or change the way I play but it will always be with me. When I’m 40 and I look back it will still bite me, it will still hurt.”

If the rest of the squad had the drive and determination of the big lock, the Springboks may just be unstoppable.

 

Last chance to play Paige:

The Springboks’ Rugby World Cup clash against the USA in London on Wednesday represents the last chance for squad member Rudy Paige to get a chance to make his Test debut.

The uncapped scrumhalf, who was a controversial inclusion ahead of Cobus Reinach in the 31-man Springbok squad for the tournament, is yet to feature in a match-day squad at the event.

The only other Springbok player to also not feature in a match-day squad is veteran flyhalf Morné Steyn, who is behind Handré Pollard and Pat Lambie in the pecking order.

Wednesday’s match is South Africa’s final Pool B game and while it’s an important game for the Springboks to win in order to secure top spot in their group, it will be the ideal opportunity to include the duo.

Barring injury, they are unlikely to feature in the knockout phases.

With Ruan Pienaar’s form well below the standard of an international scrumhalf at present, it is felt that Paige deserves at least a shot on the bench for Wednesday’s match at London’s Olympic Park (kick-off 17:45 SA Time).

Not picking Paige would just re-affirm the notion that he was purely brought along to meet transformation demands.

Coach Heyneke Meyer will name his side at 18:00 SA Time on Monday.

 

Highlights of the Scotland vs South Africa match: