RUGBY: Tri-Nations Preview - South Africa

Wednesday 13th June 2007

For perhaps the first time ever, the Springboks head into this year's Tri-Nations series with a sense of fear and awe attached to their name by their opponents.

South African rugby is on a high.

Coming off the back of unprecedented Super Rugby success, with the Bulls and the Sharks both winning home semi-finals, Springbok coach Jake White and captain John Smit seem ready to assert some dominance in world rugby.

Not only has there been domestic success, but the national line-up is looking settled and fairly polished to boot.

The pack is big. There are no two ways about it; it is a big and mean South African pack, and that has always meant something when facing Australia and New Zealand.

The backs, whilst not being perhaps the slickest and most cohesive outfit, are scoring tries - albeit relying on the likes of Bryan Habana and Jean de Villiers to carve them out of nothing.

But perhaps this optimism needs to be tempered somewhat. Whilst the rugby has been plain-sailing, the backroom politics have been torrid, with Jake White incessantly clashing with his employers.

Added to this is the thought that if you get on top of this large South African side, as England did in the first half of their last meeting, the soft underbelly of this side is all too easily exposed, and there is perhaps not a lot left after speed and power are nullified.

Strengths: This team, as said before, is a settled outfit, and the forwards' power must be rated as their chief weapon. Added to that, is the backline's ability to pounce on opposition errors to score quick and easy tries.

Weaknesses: The chief weakness of this side is its conservatism. White is a conservative selector, and the players are big and powerful, but it is questionable whether they have the pattern and ability to win the big games when mere strength is not enough.

Coach: Jake White is under fire, make no mistake. A shocking season last year, which also saw him fall out with the bosses of SA Rugby over contractual and then transformation issues, sees him under vast pressure this year. Added to this, is the endless Luke Watson-saga. Besides the politics, this needs to be the year where White actually proves that all his talk about building the perfect Rugby World Cup combination can come good. It could go either way.

Captain: Hooker John Smit has not always been the public's favourite. And like Jake White, his play has become more and more conservative and traditional. In past years, his form has not been good at all, but this year's Super 14 emerged as his finest performance in a competition yet. He has shown that the players back him, but the question remains whether he is able to lead a Springbok side to victory when they are trailing the All Blacks or Wallabies with only minutes to go.

Previous campaigns:

2006: Third
2005: Second
2004: Champions
2003: Third
2002: Third
2001: Third
2000: Third
1999: Third
1998: Champions
1997: Second
1996: Second

2007 Prospects: All the talk has been positive, and the Australians and New Zealanders have enjoyed talking up the Springboks ahead of this year's competition. But it is going to be a tough campaign for the Springboks. The All Blacks are still the most exciting team in world rugby, and the Australians may be a dark horse if they can hold the fort in the front row. The Springboks will finish second.

Squad: Os du Randt, Gurthro Steenkamp, John Smit (captain), Gary Botha, BJ Botha, CJ van der Linde, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Johann Muller, Albert van den Berg, Schalk Burger, Pedrie Wannenburg, Juan Smith, Danie Rossouw, Bob Skinstad, Pierre Spies, Fourie du Preez, Ruan Pienaar, Michael Claassens, Butch James, Derick Hougaard, Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie, Wynand Olivier, Waylon Murray, Ashwin Willemse, Akona Ndungane, JP Pietersen, Percy Montgomery, Francois Steyn.

Fixtures:

16 June: v Australia, Newlands, Cape Town 15.00 (13.00 GMT)
23 June: v New Zealand, ABSA Stadium, Durban, 15.00 (13.00 GMT)
7 July: v Australia, Stadium Australia, Sydney, 20.00 (10.00 GMT)
14 July: v New Zealand, Jade Stadium, Christchurch, 19.35 (9.35 GMT)

By Chris Waldburger - Planet Rugby

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