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'Cotton wool' Boks undecided
14/06/2007 22:10 - (SA)
Liam Del Carme, Beeld
Cape Town - To what extent Springbok coach Jake White's most valuable players will be wrapped in cotton wool for South Africa's away matches in the Tri-Nations rugby series this year will depend on the team's success in the two matches at home.
White has not decided how many of his elite players will stay at home when the Springboks depart to go play in Christchurch and Sydney.
"I really do not know; it's something we still have to decide," White said here on Thursday.
"I know there has been a lot of speculation about the squad but we will have to wait and see where we stand after the home Tests."
The initial plan was to select a strong team for the two matches against England and to rest some players for the match against Samoa.
The next part of the plan was to field the top players in the Tri-Nations matches in Cape Town and Durban and to use a rotation system for the matches Down Under.
"The most important thing is that we have two home matches left," White explained. "We have won three times at home this season and it is important to retain momentum.
"Only after our last home match will we know what our chances are of winning the Tri-Nations."
Not thinking too far ahead
Should the Springboks win both home fixtures, especially if they win convincingly against New Zealand, the temptation will be strong to send a stronger team abroad.
Some of the big guns who have not had much game time recently, such as Os du Randt, Fourie du Preez, André Pretorius, Ashwin Willemse and Bryan Habana, can be considered for the away matches.
But White is not thinking too far ahead. His focus is on Saturday's Newlands Test. And from what he has seen of the Wallabies this year, he is by no means overconfident.
There was a "complete difference" between the rugby the Australians played against Wales and their game against Fiji, he said on Thursday.
"Obviously they were up against different opponents. But they did well to stick to their guns after conceding 17 points early in the match against Wales. Not many teams would have been able to come back from that deficit."
- Beeld
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