There's no reason why the Springboks should lose to England at Twickenham tomorrow. A lot has been said in the media this week that the Boks may be feeling a bit tired after a long season, but can this really be used as an excuse?
The Boks have played 13 tests since their 34 - 12 win over Wales in Cardiff last November. Tomorrow will be their 14th. Don't get me wrong, no one is disputing that it is a lot of rugby but one has to bear in mind that most of the players in the match 22 for tomorrow's world cup final replay have had some time off this season.
Conrad Jantjes is probably a player who can feel he's had a long season. He's started the majority of matches for South Africa, the Stormers and Western Province this season. After a horrid Super 14, JP Pietersen missed out on the inbound test matches this year and only made his return to the Green and Gold during the Tri-Nations. IRB Player of the Year for 2007, Bryan Habana, has had! his fair share of injuries this season so that should have provided him with a bit of a break. He missed a big chunk of the Super 14 after sustaining a shoulder injury in the opening game against the Stormers in Cape Town. He had another injury layoff during the Currie Cup.
Centre Adrian Jacobs has been used mainly as a substitute for the Sharks during the Super 14 and only nailed down a starting spot when he was selected for the national side, so no fatigue there. His centre partner Jean de Villiers however is another player who ! can feel he's had a long season behind him. He's been like a m! achine t his season and the injuries which have plagued him throughout the years are a distant memory. Ruan Pienaar is another player who's mainly been used as an impact player for the Boks this season before being entrusted with the number 10 jersey, so he should still be relatively fresh. Same goes for Ricky Januarie who's also had limited starts for the Boks this season.Pierre Spies missed the world cup last year and made a subdued return to rugby in the Super 14. Since then though he's started in practically all the tests this year so far but I think he's still a long way off burnout. Juan Smith and Schalk Burger have been Trojans this season and are two more players who've got a lot of rugby under the belt. Bakkies Botha also had a long injury layoff during the latter half of the Tri-Nations and again in the Currie Cup and only just returned to the national side, while Victor Matfield got some rest during the Currie Cup.
Captain John Smit also spent quite some time along the sidelines after doing up a groin injury during the opening Tri-Nations test against New Zealand in Wellington. Jannie du Plessis has been in and out of the side and should be the freshest op them all while Beast Mtawarira will never admit to being tired.So given the above information, it's almost silly that the Boks can blame fatigue for their below-par performances in the past fortnight. Poor execution, ill-discipline and not being able to adapt to a referee quickly enough is just a few of the reaso! ns, A vastly improved showing with lots of tries is necessary ! to pleas e our performance-driven rugby public.
Team v England
(Test caps in brackets)
1. Beast Mtawarira (9)
2. John Smit (capt) (80)
3. Jannie du Plessis (6)
4. Bakkies Botha (54)
5. Victor Matfield (79)
6. Schalk Burger (48)
7. Danie Rossouw (35)
8. Pierre Spies (18)
9. Ricky Januaries (33)
10. Ruan Pienaar (26)
11. Bryan Habana (45)
12. Jean de Villiers (45)
13. Adi Jacobs (20)
14. JP Pietersen (23)
15. Conrad Jantjes (23)
Reserves:
16. Chiliboy Ralepelle (2)
17. Brian Mujati (11)
18. Andries Bekker (12)
19. Ryan Kankowski (6)
20. Heinrich Brussow (-)
21. Frans Steyn (26)
22. Jaque Fourie (35)
