Zeena Isaacs
12 November 2008
Johannesburg — SPRINGBOK coach Peter de Villiers yesterday resisted the urge to throw caution to the wind and give fringe players a run against Scotland on Saturday and instead stuck with the match 22 that beat Wales in Cardiff last weekend.
With De Villiers and his squad aiming for a full house of victories on their UK tour, the coach opted for continuity in selection to build on last Saturday's performance in their last two Tests against Scotland and England.
The biggest surprise in the team was the inclusion of giant lock Bakkies Botha, who was placed on the doubtful list earlier this week after being eye-gouged in the clash against Wales.
Botha saw an eye specialist in Cardiff on Sunday and on Monday in Edinburgh, and to De Villiers's delight the player was given the go-ahead yesterday to play.
Initial suspicions were that De Villiers would use Saturday's Test to blood talented young flank Heinrich Brussow and utility back Earl Rose, as England are expected to present a far greater challenge next week, meaning this would be the last chance for the coach to take risks.
But De Villiers refused to give away Test caps at will.
"I decided on an unchanged team to maintain consistency and allow this team to establish themselves as the core 22," said De Villiers. "We have brought a squad of 28 players but that does not necessarily mean that every player will play on this tour. Players will have to work for their places."
Of Botha's availability, De Villiers said: "Bakkies saw a specialist (yesterday) morning and was given the all clear. It is a big boost for the team. Everyone saw the impact he had in the first 40 minutes against Wales and we're glad to have him back."
Scotland coach Frank Hadden also opted for consistency in selection despite suffering a 32-6 defeat against New Zealand last weekend, with the only change being wing Rory Lamont replacing his brother, Sean Lamont, who is nursing a hamstring injury.
Hadden admitted that although he was tempted to select Gloucester flank Al Strokosch ahead of former Scotland captain Jason White, experience would be vital to keep alive their hopes of toppling the world champions.
"If we don't front up physically this weekend we won't get into the game," said Hadden. "I expect the game to be a big confrontation. So we've opted for a more physical pack ... we didn't just rubber stamp last Saturday's team. Strokosch can consider himself very unlucky. But Jason is way ahead of Strokosch in terms of his understanding of the line-out."
Hadden expected the Springboks to provide a tough test for his team and said converting chances into points was vital to avoid the disappointment they endured last weekend after dominating territory and possession.
"Southern hemisphere teams play uncomplicated rugby," he said. "They just do it with pace and power ... we created a lot of opportunities against New Zealand and we're determined to turn them into points this weekend."
Meanwhile, the hype surrounding outspoken Springbok flank Luke Watson's disciplinary hearing for allegedly breaching the South African Rugby Union's (Saru's) code of conduct amounted to nothing yesterday after the judicial officer withdrew himself from the case.
This means Watson's heavyweight legal team will have to wait a little longer to clear the player of any wrongdoing.
Judicial officer Nape Dolamo, however, stressed that his early exit from the case did not mean that Watson was off the hook.
Watson's controversial remarks allegedly made at a function at the University of Cape Town last month, that he wanted to vomit on his Springbok jersey, landed him in hot water with Saru.
He will face disciplinary action if found guilty of breaching the code of conduct.
It was an irregularity in Saru's appointment system for judicial officers that resulted in Dolamo pulling out.
An SA Rugby statement said only: "Judicial officer Nape Dolamo ruled on Tuesday, at the outset of the hearing against Luke Watson on charges of breaching certain sections of the Saru code of conduct, that his appointment as judicial officer was not authorised by the relevant regulations in terms of which he had been appointed. Dolamo emphasised that this ruling did not, of course, mean an end of the matter but that in the light of his ruling the hearing could not proceed."
Saru refused to elaborate further on the matter yesterday or explain the details of the irregularities in its system of appointing judicial officers.
But by the looks of things the organisation will have to iron out these irregularities before proceeding with the case.
With Reuters
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