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Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:11

There will be intriguing head-to-head showdowns all over the field when South Africa face Australia in a Tri-Nations crunch match in Cape Town on Saturday, but top of that list may well be the breakdown battle.

For years Wallaby star George Smith and All Black captain Richie McCaw ruled the ‘underworld’ of ball scavengers.

However, the new kid on the block, Springbok flank Heinrich Brüssow, is threatening to steal their thunder.

Having upstaged McCaw twice in the past fortnight, Brüssow will put his burgeoning reputation on the line against another breakdown master in Smith.

And the 29-year-old Wallaby loose forward readily admits he is ready to take it to the ‘limit’.

As fetchers go, they tend to push the envelope and are never far away from a few penalties.

But when the pressure is turned up, as Brüssow is busy doing, then it may require the old hands to call on their experience to get an edge over the youthful exuberance of a rival.

Smith said that, because law interpretation differ from Test to Test and referee to referee, it requires you to think on your feet.

“I always play to the referee,” the Wallaby veteran of 100 Tests said, adding: “He [the ref] is the boss in the middle there and I try and get on his good side as much as possible.”

Smith, just one of 10 players to have reached a century of internationals, knows all too well how much referees differ in different situations.

“You have to be aware of what the referee is saying and make sure you are playing within his laws and within the laws of the game,” he said, adding that he will not change any aspect of his game – despite facing, for the first time, a South African team with a true fetcher, or openside flank as they like to call them Down Under.

“I’ll be playing to the laws of the game.

“It [different interpretations] can be frustrating if you allow it to, but you have to adapt quickly and make sure your are on song, allow the referee to do his job in the middle.

“What you can do is control what your emotions are out there and do things right to the best of your ability.

“If you allow frustrations to creep in and continue through the game, then you are not playing the game you should be.”

Smith admitted that the inclusion of Brüssow not only brings a different dimension to the Bok game, but that the pocket-sized flank poses a real threat.

“The Aussies always had a traditional fetcher and the Boks have gone that way with the up-and-coming Heinrich Brüssow.

“He is playing particularly well at the moment, but we [Australia] have traditionally had a shorter back row forward in our sides over the years and will [most likely] continue to do so.”

He said his approach to the game will not change, despite Brüssow’s inclusion and the obvious change this brought to the Bok back row play.

“You are definitely aware of different players and what strengths they bring to the team, but in terms of my personal approach I won’t be changing things in the way that I prepare for the match.”

Asked if Brüssow could be in it for the long haul, a lengthy Bok career, Smith said he may well cause the Bok selectors a few headaches when Schalk Burger comes off his eight-week ban later this month.

“It’s a unique situation in the Bok pack, having a fetcher of his ability.

“He [Brüssow] is playing particularly well and things seem to be working for him in that position. It will be interesting to see in a few weeks how things pan out with Schalk [Burger] coming back.

“The Bok selectors will have a good problem on their hands.”

He felt there was a “massive” difference between Burger and Brüssow, in the way they play the game.

“There are pros and cons for that – you sacrifice a very good ball carrier in Schalk and he jumps well in the line-outs, you do sacrifice a little to do other things in the set-up of the team.

“In saying that, Heinrich is playing particularly well this year, he has been rewarded with another starting cap and they [South Africa] have a particularly good pack. He [Brüssow] is definitely taking his opportunities and playing well.”

365