03-08-2005, 11:07 AM
If All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith was in charge of the Springboks he would be starting with Lions duo Ricky Januarie and Andre Pretorius as the halfbacks in this weekend's Tri-Nations clash in Cape Town.
Smith, the flyhalf of the rebel New Zealand Cavaliers side who toured South Africa in 1986, has taken note of Januarie and is impressed with the player's cockiness and ability to harass opposition scrumhalves.
Januarie came on as a second half substitute when he replaced Fourie du Preez against the Wallabies at Loftus and his impact was immediate.
"I think he'll definitely start on Saturday at Newlands - he has to, he's electric," said Smith, who handles the All Blacks' backline.
'I think he'll definitely start on Saturday'
Of Pretorius, he said: "I think the player was told to beef up a couple of years ago and he's bulked up nicely.
"Andre tackled superbly against the Wallabies and I think he made 17 tackles. They attacked his channel and he coped well. He handled the pressure, his tactical kicking at Loftus was faultless and I think he's a much better footballer than Jaco (van der Westhuyzen)," said Smith.
The All Blacks are also wary of the edge Jean de Villiers has brought to the Springboks' backline.
"The De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert combination play differently to the De Villiers and (Jaque) Fourie pairing," Smith said.
"Don't get me wrong, they play to the Springboks' pattern, but De Villiers is a fantastic player and is a well-balanced footballer.
'I thought he showed good nous on defence'
"We haven't seen much of Fourie, but from what I could see against the Wallabies, I thought he showed good nous on defence and they combine well," Smith continued.
The assistant said that the Springboks were also looking well organised on defence and were mixing up their defensive patterns well.
In the Tri-Nations opener the Wallabies peppered the Boks with quite a few high cross-kicks because they could not find a chink the South African midfield.
But Bok fullback Percy Montgomery defused the "bombs" as the Aussies went the aerial route.
Smith said that the Wallabies had been developing their kicking game over the past year and their strategy was not a knee-jerk reaction to the South Africans' rush defence.
"The Aussies have tended to do a lot of kicking in the past year. I think the reason they did this was because they weren't receiving clean ball at the rucks and not because of the South African rush defence.
"South Africa did rush them during the match but not all the time, they had a measured defensive strategy and sometimes they stood back and waited. Their defensive alignment is definitely an area they have improved in," he said.
The All Blacks announced a predictable team for the Newlands match, and stronger than the side that did duty during the final Lions Test.
There are five changes, with flank Richie McCaw returning to the fray along with prop Carl Hayman, flyhalf Dan Carter, inside centre Aaron Mauger and fullback Leon MacDonald.
The Blacks did not consider centre Conrad Smith, as he was diagnosed with a mild attack of mumps at the weekend, and wing Sitiveni Sivivatu has not recovered from a calf strain and shoulder injury.
Sivivatu's place goes to Mils Muliaina who moves from fullback to wing.
All Blacks:
15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Rico Gear, 13 Tana Umaga (capt), 12 Aaron Mauger, 11 Mils Muliaina, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Reserves: 16 Derren Witcombe, 17 Greg Somerville, 18 James Ryan, 19 Marty Holah, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Joe Rokocoko.
Smith, the flyhalf of the rebel New Zealand Cavaliers side who toured South Africa in 1986, has taken note of Januarie and is impressed with the player's cockiness and ability to harass opposition scrumhalves.
Januarie came on as a second half substitute when he replaced Fourie du Preez against the Wallabies at Loftus and his impact was immediate.
"I think he'll definitely start on Saturday at Newlands - he has to, he's electric," said Smith, who handles the All Blacks' backline.
'I think he'll definitely start on Saturday'
Of Pretorius, he said: "I think the player was told to beef up a couple of years ago and he's bulked up nicely.
"Andre tackled superbly against the Wallabies and I think he made 17 tackles. They attacked his channel and he coped well. He handled the pressure, his tactical kicking at Loftus was faultless and I think he's a much better footballer than Jaco (van der Westhuyzen)," said Smith.
The All Blacks are also wary of the edge Jean de Villiers has brought to the Springboks' backline.
"The De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert combination play differently to the De Villiers and (Jaque) Fourie pairing," Smith said.
"Don't get me wrong, they play to the Springboks' pattern, but De Villiers is a fantastic player and is a well-balanced footballer.
'I thought he showed good nous on defence'
"We haven't seen much of Fourie, but from what I could see against the Wallabies, I thought he showed good nous on defence and they combine well," Smith continued.
The assistant said that the Springboks were also looking well organised on defence and were mixing up their defensive patterns well.
In the Tri-Nations opener the Wallabies peppered the Boks with quite a few high cross-kicks because they could not find a chink the South African midfield.
But Bok fullback Percy Montgomery defused the "bombs" as the Aussies went the aerial route.
Smith said that the Wallabies had been developing their kicking game over the past year and their strategy was not a knee-jerk reaction to the South Africans' rush defence.
"The Aussies have tended to do a lot of kicking in the past year. I think the reason they did this was because they weren't receiving clean ball at the rucks and not because of the South African rush defence.
"South Africa did rush them during the match but not all the time, they had a measured defensive strategy and sometimes they stood back and waited. Their defensive alignment is definitely an area they have improved in," he said.
The All Blacks announced a predictable team for the Newlands match, and stronger than the side that did duty during the final Lions Test.
There are five changes, with flank Richie McCaw returning to the fray along with prop Carl Hayman, flyhalf Dan Carter, inside centre Aaron Mauger and fullback Leon MacDonald.
The Blacks did not consider centre Conrad Smith, as he was diagnosed with a mild attack of mumps at the weekend, and wing Sitiveni Sivivatu has not recovered from a calf strain and shoulder injury.
Sivivatu's place goes to Mils Muliaina who moves from fullback to wing.
All Blacks:
15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Rico Gear, 13 Tana Umaga (capt), 12 Aaron Mauger, 11 Mils Muliaina, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Reserves: 16 Derren Witcombe, 17 Greg Somerville, 18 James Ryan, 19 Marty Holah, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Joe Rokocoko.