Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer is not one to make statements of intent through his selections. With the three changes he made to the side that beat Argentina 13-6 in Pretoria on Saturday, the message is clear: Manhandle the niggly Pumas and win handsomely.
Juan Smith, Eben Etzebeth and Gurthro Steenkamp come in for Marcell Coetzee, Bakkies Botha and Tendai Mtawarira, who are all on the bench.
While winning is still the priority, which has not been done very easily in Argentina in the recent past, Meyer's outlook for the Salta Test match is very minimalistic. The importance of the win is not lost on Meyer for Saturday’s Test is the first of three Rugby Championship fixtures on the road for the Boks.
“Three games on the road is always tough for us and we struggle to build continuity and we still have to go back home and face two must-win Test matches. You don't want to be in that position because you find yourself in a defensive mode but the team is good enough to do the business,” said Meyer.
“We are not looking too much into the permutations and there are five games left to be played. We need to try and win every one of them. The bonus point will take care of itself but you first have to win the game. We don't care about the bonus point. We just focus on what we need to achieve and play minute for minute.”
However narrow Meyer's vision for Saturday may be, an unchanged backline packed with pace, power and guile is a sure-fire pointer of the need to tear the Pumas apart.
Lwazi Mvovo's appearance on the bench is probably the clearest indication of the unwillingness to take the foot of the pedal should the Springboks look to run up a cricket score if the hosts do not come to the party. Their lack of experience is the least of Meyer's worries.
“People always believe that I am conservative but I have picked youngsters and I am giving them another opportunity to play. You can't just say pick youngsters and not give them the chance. My one frustration is the lack of time I have in getting the backline to gel,” he said.
“I want to watch Damian de Allende closely and Handre Pollard couldn't get going very well because of the conditions so I decided to give them another opportunity. They will make mistakes because they are young but I also want them to express themselves, especially in dry conditions.”
A glimpse into South Africa's lock future will be viewed when Etzebeth and Lodewyk “Lood” de Jager make their first Test match start. Etzebeth was a spectator at Tuesday's training session, along with Duane Vermeulen, which added to the disjointedness of the set-piece training.
Victor Matfield's injury-enforced absence was keenly felt but life has to go on, with Meyer saying Smith's 69-Test match experience has come in a very handy time. Argentina had their own struggles in the lineout and without Patricio Albacete, their lineout does not strike fear into opponent's hearts. “Lood is an awesome player but you can see that when Victor is not there, you do need some experience. It is the first time that these youngsters will be playing together,” said Meyer.
Meyer in mood for blast-off
Juan Smith, Eben Etzebeth and Gurthro Steenkamp come in for Marcell Coetzee, Bakkies Botha and Tendai Mtawarira, who are all on the bench.
While winning is still the priority, which has not been done very easily in Argentina in the recent past, Meyer's outlook for the Salta Test match is very minimalistic. The importance of the win is not lost on Meyer for Saturday’s Test is the first of three Rugby Championship fixtures on the road for the Boks.
“Three games on the road is always tough for us and we struggle to build continuity and we still have to go back home and face two must-win Test matches. You don't want to be in that position because you find yourself in a defensive mode but the team is good enough to do the business,” said Meyer.
“We are not looking too much into the permutations and there are five games left to be played. We need to try and win every one of them. The bonus point will take care of itself but you first have to win the game. We don't care about the bonus point. We just focus on what we need to achieve and play minute for minute.”
However narrow Meyer's vision for Saturday may be, an unchanged backline packed with pace, power and guile is a sure-fire pointer of the need to tear the Pumas apart.
Lwazi Mvovo's appearance on the bench is probably the clearest indication of the unwillingness to take the foot of the pedal should the Springboks look to run up a cricket score if the hosts do not come to the party. Their lack of experience is the least of Meyer's worries.
“People always believe that I am conservative but I have picked youngsters and I am giving them another opportunity to play. You can't just say pick youngsters and not give them the chance. My one frustration is the lack of time I have in getting the backline to gel,” he said.
“I want to watch Damian de Allende closely and Handre Pollard couldn't get going very well because of the conditions so I decided to give them another opportunity. They will make mistakes because they are young but I also want them to express themselves, especially in dry conditions.”
A glimpse into South Africa's lock future will be viewed when Etzebeth and Lodewyk “Lood” de Jager make their first Test match start. Etzebeth was a spectator at Tuesday's training session, along with Duane Vermeulen, which added to the disjointedness of the set-piece training.
Victor Matfield's injury-enforced absence was keenly felt but life has to go on, with Meyer saying Smith's 69-Test match experience has come in a very handy time. Argentina had their own struggles in the lineout and without Patricio Albacete, their lineout does not strike fear into opponent's hearts. “Lood is an awesome player but you can see that when Victor is not there, you do need some experience. It is the first time that these youngsters will be playing together,” said Meyer.
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