White hoping seasoned pack will dominate

Springbok coach Jake White will rely on his experienced pack to lay the foundation for his relatively young backline to launch a fast and furious attack, when they cross paths with the brawny Samoan s at Ellis Park tomorrow writes Zeena Isaacs for Business Day.

In the last two Tests against England, the Springboks struggled to overpower the visitors’ pack due to technical faults and a few “tactics” by England’s pack.

However, White was hopeful his pack could restore its reputation as a force to be reckoned with in the scrums and so provide a platform for his exciting backs to do some damage.

White has taken a risk by resting key players for tomorrow’s game — including centres Jean de Villiers and Wynand Olivier — and giving fringe players, such as centres Wayne Julies and Waylon Murray, flyhalf Derick Hougaard and wing JP Pietersen, a chance to show their talent ahead of the World Cup.

But this challenge could be daunting, to say the least, if White’s inexperienced backline is not completely focused.

The Samoan s are renowned for their brute force in contact situations or, as their coach Michael Jones summed it up earlier this week, “smashing the heck out of the opposition”.

Given this, White’s backs could face a tough test tomorrow, particularly on defence where preventing the opposition from causing mass destruction on attack could be physically taxing.

“Samoa have a formidable backline,” said White. “Their centres Seilala Mapusua and Anitelela Tuilagi, in particular, are very dangerous. If their backs get the ball, we have to be very aware, because we know what kind of athletes Samoa have.”

White, however, was confident that, despite having only 50 Test caps between them, his backs would stand their ground.

“The only way we can answer if they will be ready for the Tri-Nations is to see how they play this weekend,” said White. “This game is important going forward to the World Cup. That is the main priority for these players.”

Hougaard, in particular, will want to make the most of his opportunity in the Springbok jersey for the first time in four years, especially with Andre Pretorius’s unfortunate spate of injuries over the past few years.

Should Pretorius suffer an injury before or during the World Cup, Butch James and Francois Steyn will be White’s obvious flyhalf choices. However, should one of these players suffer an injury, Hougaard is next in line.

Jones was excited ahead of the game and said that playing against the Springboks was the “ultimate test” for his team .

But he was under no illusions about the challenge ahead.

“This game is an important stepping stone for us in the bigger picture to the World Cup,” said Jones. “We need these games more than anything…. We do not have competitions like the Super 14 to measure where our players are at. This is going to be a real test mentally and to test the character of our men.”

Samoa’s Super 14 players, including the likes of winger Lome Faa’tau and centre Seilala Mapusa , should play prominent roles tomorrow, as Jones has made it clear that he expects those players to provide some direction to the game.

Ellis Park sources said yesterday they expected to sell 25000 tickets for the game

Springbok team: Francois Steyn, Ashwin Willemse, Waylon Murray, Wayne Julies, JP Pietersen, Derick Hougaard, Ricky Januarie, Bob Skinstad, Danie Rossouw, Luke Watson, Albert van den Berg, Johan Ackermann, BJ Botha, John Smit (capt), Os du Randt.

Replacements: Gary Botha, Deon Carstens, Johann Muller, Pedrie Wannenburg, Ruan Pienaar, Jaque Fourie, Percy Montgomery.

Samoan team: Gavin Williams, Lome Fa’atau, Anitelela Tuilagi, Seilala Mapusua, Alesana Tuilagi, Loki Crichton, Steven So’oalo, Semo Sititi (capt), Justin Purdie, Daniel Leo, Filipo Levi, Kane Thompson, Census Johnston, Mahonri Schwalger, Justin Va’a.

Replacements: Muliufi Salanoa, Donald Kerslake, Iosefa Tekori, Alfie Vaeluaga, Junior Poluleuligaga, Elvis Sevealii, David Levi. Kickoff 15:00

Referee: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)