SPRINGBOK captain Jean de Villiers will shoulder larger than usual responsibility when the Boks play Argentina at Loftus on Saturday.
De Villiers, who has recovered from the knee injury that kept him out of the June Tests, is back at inside centre but he has the weighty responsibility of baby-sitting inexperienced players either side of him.
Handre Pollard will play his second Test, while Damian de Allende will reacquaint himself with the outside centre position on debut.
De Villiers’ availability for his 97th Test was crucial to the make-up of the backline. His presence is reassuring for coach Heyneke Meyer who was desperate to give Pollard another crack after he debuted against Scotland in Port Elizabeth.
Meyer is a long-time admirer.
“Handre showed some great touches in his first Test. He is only 20 years old but he is a very mature 20 years old,” Meyer said yesterday.
“I saw him play as a 15-year-old boy and at U19 at Craven Week. He has always impressed me. He has an unbelievable running game but he can also play a tactical game. Not many flyhalves can do that. He can knock people back in the tackle. There are no grey areas in his game.”
Pollard’s selection ahead of Morne Steyn, who is on the bench, however should not be seen as the latter’s slide in the flyhalf’s pecking order.
“You have to take your hat off to Morne who has been around. Some young guys have challenged him in the past but he’s always been around. I just feel we need to find the next guy. We can’t just go with one flyhalf into a tough tournament. There is also not a lot of time before the World Cup.
“Morne is there and we know what he can do, it was just about giving Handre a chance. He is a great prospect and this is the right type of game to give him a go.”
Meyer also explained that while Pat Lambie has done well for the team, he hasn’t played a lot of late.
Steyn will provide fullback cover but Meyer pointed out Pollard can play there as well.
The obvious concern for the Boks is that they have several players who may be short of match practice. It particularly manifests itself in the back division. “Bryan (Habana) and Ruan (Pienaar) haven’t played for quite some time. The centres as well and Pollard is new, and Cornal (Hendricks) is quite new as well. It was a difficult backline to choose but I’m very excited about this backline,” said Meyer.
The coach urged his players to hit the deck running in the Rugby Championships. “We have to hit our straps soon because we will be under pressure going forward.”
The Bok team: Willie le Roux; Cornal Hendricks, Damian de Allende, Jean de Villiers (capt), Bryan Habana; Handre Pollard, Ruan Pienaar; Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, Francois Louw, Lood de Jager, Bakkies Botha, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira. Reserves: Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Marcell Coetzee; Francois Hougaard, Morne Steyn, Jan Serfontein.
Boks pin hopes on De Villiers
De Villiers, who has recovered from the knee injury that kept him out of the June Tests, is back at inside centre but he has the weighty responsibility of baby-sitting inexperienced players either side of him.
Handre Pollard will play his second Test, while Damian de Allende will reacquaint himself with the outside centre position on debut.
De Villiers’ availability for his 97th Test was crucial to the make-up of the backline. His presence is reassuring for coach Heyneke Meyer who was desperate to give Pollard another crack after he debuted against Scotland in Port Elizabeth.
Meyer is a long-time admirer.
“Handre showed some great touches in his first Test. He is only 20 years old but he is a very mature 20 years old,” Meyer said yesterday.
“I saw him play as a 15-year-old boy and at U19 at Craven Week. He has always impressed me. He has an unbelievable running game but he can also play a tactical game. Not many flyhalves can do that. He can knock people back in the tackle. There are no grey areas in his game.”
Pollard’s selection ahead of Morne Steyn, who is on the bench, however should not be seen as the latter’s slide in the flyhalf’s pecking order.
“You have to take your hat off to Morne who has been around. Some young guys have challenged him in the past but he’s always been around. I just feel we need to find the next guy. We can’t just go with one flyhalf into a tough tournament. There is also not a lot of time before the World Cup.
“Morne is there and we know what he can do, it was just about giving Handre a chance. He is a great prospect and this is the right type of game to give him a go.”
Meyer also explained that while Pat Lambie has done well for the team, he hasn’t played a lot of late.
Steyn will provide fullback cover but Meyer pointed out Pollard can play there as well.
The obvious concern for the Boks is that they have several players who may be short of match practice. It particularly manifests itself in the back division. “Bryan (Habana) and Ruan (Pienaar) haven’t played for quite some time. The centres as well and Pollard is new, and Cornal (Hendricks) is quite new as well. It was a difficult backline to choose but I’m very excited about this backline,” said Meyer.
The coach urged his players to hit the deck running in the Rugby Championships. “We have to hit our straps soon because we will be under pressure going forward.”
The Bok team: Willie le Roux; Cornal Hendricks, Damian de Allende, Jean de Villiers (capt), Bryan Habana; Handre Pollard, Ruan Pienaar; Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, Francois Louw, Lood de Jager, Bakkies Botha, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira. Reserves: Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Marcell Coetzee; Francois Hougaard, Morne Steyn, Jan Serfontein.
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