Fourie du Preez
South Africa captain Fourie du Preez says Saturday’s semifinal defeat by New Zealand is likely to be his last game for his country after he picked up a facial injury.
Du Preez finished the match with a swollen eye and cheekbone and is doubtful for the bronze final on Friday.
Asked about his future, a dejected du Preez said: “I don’t know if that was my last game, I’ll see how the injury goes. That was probably my last game. I have got a broken tooth and I will be getting a check on my cheekbone tomorrow, but they don’t think it’s broken.
Scans taken after the match cleared the No 9 of a fractured cheekbone, but he does have a damaged tooth.
He will also have to wait and see if the swelling goes down before a decision is made if he will play against Argentina at the Olympic Stadium in London this coming Friday.
However, medical opinion is that he should be available.
The Springboks have been given 2 days off, before they will fit in a couple of training sessions – a full session on Wednesday and the captain’s run on Thursday – ahead of Friday’s meaningless encounter.
Team doctor Craig Roberts’s post match medical report had some other good news as well.
Flank Francois Louw, who received 16 stitches to his forehead for a deep cut, is available for selection.
“That won’t keep him out of play, it has healed up and it is fine,” Roberts told a media gathering.
Hard to take:
“It’s a bit emotional and hard to take,” added the 33-year-old scrumhalf. “One lineout, one penalty, one conversion… that’s all the difference was. It was so close and the margins are so small, so there is a lot of disappointment. We had an opportunity and we didn’t take it.”
Coach Heyneke Meyer said he felt South Africa should have won the game but failed to cope with the Twickenham rain.
While the Springboks were in the changing rooms, New Zealand made the unusual decision to spend some of the halftime break doing drills on the pitch as rain began to pour down. Trailing 12 / 7 at the interval, the All Blacks turned the game around in the 2nd half for a 20 / 18 victory.
“I thought we had a perfect 1st half, executed well, our discipline was 100% intact and built scoreboard pressure,” Meyer said. “I don’t think we adapted well to the rainy conditions. We made some mistakes and that was the difference between winning and losing.
Missed opportunity:
“We had a chance and we didn’t take it. We should have been in the final and I will never settle for 2nd.”
Meyer and his squad faced fierce criticism after the Springboks were upset by Japan in their opening pool game.
Asked about his future, Meyer said: “You can see how grey I am but I have always said I am here to serve. I’m just thinking about today.”
Kept their nerve:
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said he was impressed by the way his team kept their nerve.
“It was always going to be close, they’re a great side and they showed that again today. I was really proud of our guys, they kept their composure,” he said.
Asked what he was thinking at halftime, Hansen added: “We just needed to come out and start taking the game to them, rather than waiting for them to take it to us. We talked about keeping composure.”