Boks to face a ‘better combination’

Cardiff - The Springboks are bracing themselves for a different challenge from the one they faced in Ireland in their first tour match in Dublin a week ago.

Speaking before the match press conference, Bok captain Victor Matfield hinted that the Welsh side they willl meet at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday are a better balanced combination than the Irish.

“The Welsh have a more experienced pack. Their front-row has been around for a long time and their lineout is more experienced and should withstand the pressure ... better than the Irish,” he said.

While Wales don’t have a Brian O’Driscoll, and the consensus among the Welsh media is that the halfback pairing of Mike Phillips and Stephen Jones are in their last chance saloon, the Welsh do have their fair share of experienced players at the back, with several of them having played for the British and Irish Lions.

So the Welsh won’t have their options as hamstrung as the Irish were last week.

Though their main strength may be in the pack, they have a better spread of talent.

Should their forwards front the Boks today, they do have pace out wide in Shane Williams and the highly touted newcomer George North.

The Welsh miss Jamie Roberts, who was such a revelation for the Lions last year, but James Hook is as good at inside centre as he is at flyhalf.

On the whole, it looks stronger side than the one that narrowly lost to the Springboks in the summer Millennium Stadium Test match here back in June.

Memories of that game, and how the Boks fell behind early, should erase any thought of this being a match which the Boks should win easily.

If the Boks do let the Welsh get ahead early this time, the chances are they won’t fight back like five months ago.

The biggest irony about this match though is the Welsh decision to pull the roof over for the match.

They did the opposite last week on the basis that they feared the Wallaby backs, and what they appear to be saying now is that they reckon they can beat South Africa playing a running game.

It is an irony because in the past it was assumed the Welsh would be better off playing in their conditions.

The Boks did play in the wet last week, but judging from the rain that has fallen over this city over the past few days, Welsh players should be far more accustomed to playing in the wet than the Springboks.

And yet it probably does improve the Welsh chances today for the rain that fell before and during the Dublin test did have a big impact on how that match was played – and it played into the Bok hands by enabling a stronger emphasis to be placed on the forward battle.

Will the Bok dominance of the opposition pack be as comprehensive today?

It is unlikely, and the roles may even be reversed. If they are, it could be a long afternoon for the Boks as the conditions, which turned the Irish into a team unable to catch a ball, meant the defensive system wasn’t really subjected to a proper examination.

Warren Gatland is a clever coach and he would have watched the Tri-Nations.

He should then have noted where the Bok defence is weak, and where they can be attacked, which again explains why the roof is going to be closed.

The Boks have been quite open about the fact that their rejigged configuration of last week, which featured fullback Zane Kirchner at centre, was not properly tested.

It was why coach Peter de Villiers did not hesitate too long before dropping Kirchner for Frans Steyn even though the Bulls player, to his mind and to the minds of most, had not put a foot wrong at Aviva Stadium.

Steyn, with his 40 caps, several of which were in the midfield, though admittedly one position in from where he will be playing today, makes the Bok back division look a lot more experienced, and potent, than it was last week.

But still you get the impression that it all hinges on the forwards, and it is here that the tight five hold the key to the Bok chances of victory – the front row in the scrums, and in particular Bismarck du Plessis for what he offers to the all-important momentum as a ball carrier, and Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Juan Smith and Pierre Spies in the lineouts.

If the Welsh are starved of ball like the Irish were for long periods last week, it won’t matter whether their backs will be able to improve on last week’s lamentable showing against Australia. The Welsh only made two line breaks from over 90 carries last week, so a solid Bok forward showing will leave them with too much work to do. - Weekend Argus

• Boks ready to raise the roof