Bokwatch 7

A happy and relaxed Jake White and John Smit spoke to the press prior to the team’s departure for France about their preparations, about following Kitch Christie’s plan and the potential impact of the referees at the tournament.

“We have just completed our last training session and there’s no more we can do now,” said Springbok coach White.

“All the players are fit – only Akona Ndungane is still carrying a bruise – and will play an active part in the World Cup.

“I’m very happy with where we are now and just hope we can stick to what we’ve worked on, over the next six weeks.

“It’s a huge relief and a great honour to be representing South Africa.

“In 2004 we were worried whether we could beat Ireland and if you’d have said then that we’d have been one of the favourites in 2007, no one would have believed it. Now the players can’t wait for the opportunity.

“Lots of players have gone through hard times and had to fight hard to get back into the squad so it makes it a bit more special.

“The core of who we identified have made it though and that’s a credit to the selectors initial identification of what they believed would make a successful Bok squad.

“You never take going to the World Cup for granted. But I am very, very happy with where we are. I have 16 guys from my first year in charge and I have a team with 860-odd caps. We’ve worked on this for the last four years and now we need to make sure we get it going for the next seven weeks.

“There is unique pressure in South African rugby. When I started in 2004, the pressure was to beat Ireland in a home series and now there is no doubt people in South Africa believe we can win the World Cup. It’s a pressure we take gladly.

“Pressure is probably the one thing South African rugby players can handle better than anyone else,” added White.

White talked about the crucial pool game against England, saying that he already knew his starting line-up to take on the Poms.

“I’ve had it in my head for four years. Obviously, over the years, different circumstances and injuries have affected it, but, yes, I’ve already decided on my starting line-up against England.

“It’s not like in 2003 when our game against England was made out to be the be-all and end-all of our World Cup but, realistically, people will be saying the England game will be the one to decide who wins the pool.

“But our first focus is on the game against Samoa on Sunday and hopefully that gives us momentum to take into the England game,” said White.

John Smit compared the vibe in the 2007 side with that of the 2003 team.

“There’s a big contrast between now and 2003. In 2003, every single guy was just happy to have survived and to get to Australia,” said the Bok captain.

“But this squad is as settled as it has ever been in the last decade. There’s a completely different focus and we have a very firm belief in our ability to win the World Cup, which was probably missing in 2003.

“By the time you get to the quarter-finals, it’s anyone’s game. Any team can make something happen – World Cups have been won on drop goals and penalties – so it comes down to the best attitude on the day.

“There is a massive amount of talk about all previous World Cup teams especially the winning team of 1995. We are lucky to have Os still with us and he lead from the front at our team building exercise in the South Coast.”

Jake White talked about the importance of being able to win four big matches in a row, and revealed that he is following the successful strategy of 1995 World Cup winning coaching legend Kitch Christie.

“During the past four years, New Zealand and South Africa were the only teams that managed to win four big matches in a row,” said White.

“This does not even happen in the Six Nations. And to tell the truth, New Zealand failed to do it last year because they lost to us at Rustenburg.

“When it comes down to South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, France and England, you must be able to win four in a row.

“I’m going to try to do it just as Kitch did. The reality is that there are two groups but one team,” explained White referring to the Bok ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams.

“Every player will get an opportunity. After the first two weeks we will see how we’ll tackle the rest of the tournament.

“We aim to win our group. Everyone knows we regard the match against England as the most important in the group.

“But it’s not as crucial as the result was in 2003. We must now ensure that we focus, to start with, on the match against Samoa.

“This is where we must achieve momentum because we play England five days later.”

The Springbok coach has previously stated his belief that the referees will have a major impact on the type of rugby played at this year’s World Cup. He talked about this aspect of the tournament in greater detail.

“The referees, like every player and coach, will be under pressure. They are answerable to an assessor and a higher influence and they will be measured in their ability to adhere to certain pre-determined and agreed on approaches.

“We see it at the start of every Super 14, Tri Nations, Six Nations and European Cup. There is always something specific the referees focus on and that’s where they take a hard line.

“If you don’t adapt immediately it could prove costly. What I am sure will be answered in that first game is exactly what that focus will be for the World Cup.

“What I will take from that first game is whether it is in your interests to have the ball in the first 20 minutes. What will their approach be to the tackle situation? Is it going to be the team doing all the attacking and making all the play that gets punished? Or will it be fair play to attackers and defenders at collision time? Do you play a ball-in-hand game in that opening period or do you play for field position and defend the position and force the penalty?

“I’ve seen it often in big tournaments that the team wanting to make the play actually ends up getting penalised for this positive approach. It is easier for an attacking player to infringe at the breakdown through over eagerness and not malice. If five attackers are playing two defenders at a ruck the law of averages says the advantage should be with the attacking side, but often it is one or two of the enthusiastic five that get penalised for going off their feet or falling over, while the desperate two hanging onto the ball and perhaps doing so cynically don’t get penalised.

“So is it a case of backing your defence in those frantic opening 20 minutes, settling the nerves through accurate and aggressive defence or do you risk referee interpretation when you take the ball into the tackle?

“I am not being negative when I say the referees will have a major influence on the tournament. I am also not saying they will get it wrong because there are some fantastic referees in the game.

“What I am highlighting is the importance and influence of the referee in determining the outcome of the game. Rugby is not a sport where the referee simply manages the game. He is a capable of influencing the result because so much is down to interpretation. It would be naïve to underestimate the role of the referee.

“I feel for those guys because they are making calls without the luxury of a replay or without the advantage of an aerial view. They have to make a decision in an instant and the reality is some do it better than others.”

The Bok coach expects the referees to have a particularly strong influence at scrum time.

“Some referees encourage scrumming, while others want to avoid the possibility of numerous resets while the packs are sizing each other up. So you could find both teams getting early penalties as the referee tries to calm the situation.

“Put it this way, there’s a hell of a lot of heat on those guys. Unfortunately the only press they get is when they get it wrong and so many of them get it right most of the time.

“But it is the nature of the game and because so much is down to interpretation their decision-making gets analysed more intensely. So expect lots of stoppages and lots of penalties.”

White believes goalkicking will be a crucial factor in determining the outcome of matches at the World Cup.

“I’ve maintained all along the guys who can kick the penalties and drop goals will make the biggest contribution to any successful campaign and I am confident we have one of the most accurate in Monty, with capable back-up in Andre Pretorius, Butch James, Frans Steyn and Ruan Pienaar,” concluded the Bok coach.