|
South African Boks' midfield challenge for 2009 Lion’s tour
Wynand Olivier's outstanding performance for the Bulls against the Crusaders in Christchurch yesterday again highlighted the pleasant problem the Springbok selectors will face when they select their midfield for the coming series against the British and Irish Lions. Up to now the debate has focussed on an Adrian Jacobs versus Jaque Fourie battle for the No13 jersey, but Olivier, a member of the World Cup winning squad, is playing the best rugby of his career. At this stage it is unlikely that Olivier will force his way into the midfield group, which should be made up of Jean de Villiers, Fourie and Jacobs, but it should nonetheless be comforting for coach Peter de Villiers that he does have a ready replacement should De Villiers be injured.
Sources around the Springbok camp say the team to face the Lions in the first Test in Durban should not differ "by more than one or two names" from the one that beat England at Twickenham last November. “The second and third tests are in Pretoria and Cape Town and fans should ensure that they have accommodation in these cities now,” warns Robert Wilson, CEO of traveinsouthafrica.net.
The importance of the Lions series, however, dictates that this is a time when every selection has to be spot on, there can be no mistakes, and anyone caring to troll through the rugby websites, or to speak to the Super 14 coaches, should be quite clear of where the hot-spots are.
Given that defence is going to have to be such an important part of the Bok strategy against the British Lions, it is something for the selectors to think about. Even with the matches being played before a predominantly South African crowd. With ball in hand, there is not much to choose between these players, with Jacobs gaining 605m against Fourie's 529m, but then it needs to be remembered that the Sharks have played more games than the Lions. Jacobs has played 560 minutes against 429 minutes from Fourie, which translates into a 1.08m gained per minute of game time against 1.13m per minute by Fourie. Fourie and De Villiers are second behind Olivier when it comes to turnovers forced, with five against Olivier's six, and Jacobs bringing up the rear with two. In clean-outs at the breakdown he is again top with 30, ahead of Olivier (25) and Jacobs (22). Those areas of debate are not the only talking points to occupy the minds of the Springbok brains trust over the next two months. A cast around for the views of other writers working on Independent Group weekend titles brought up Durban's Mike Greenaway making goal kicking such a priority that he has called for Percy Montgomery to be called out of retirement. Jacques van der Westhuizen of the Star went with the solution to the Fourie/Jacobs debate, which is to move Fourie to fullback so that both can be accommodated in the same team. o This article was originally published on page 31 of Cape Argus on April 04, 2009
|
