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+---- Thread: Wallabies want to kiss things better (/Thread-Wallabies-want-to-kiss-things-better)
Wallabies want to kiss things better - mcamp999 - 16-08-2005
The Wallabies, hit by injuries and stabbed by accusatory fingers, will introduce a policy of Kiss (Keep It Simple on Saturday) against the Springboks in their Vodacom Tri-Nations match at the Subiaco Oval.
After deriding and then struggling against the Springboks' rush defence, the Wallabies may copy the South Africa model this weekend, instituting a version of the in-your-face holding line that has won Jake White's team three matches in a row. Simple, aggressive and risky though the rush defence may be, it has proved to be wholly effective for a Springbok team that is still developing on many fronts.
"We are going to have to have a fairly simple game plan against South Africa, which might suit us in a lot of ways, particularly in the way they defend in your own attack line," Jones said, chucking in the smallest dig that he believes that the Springboks flirt outrageously and illegally with the offside line. That said, the Wallabies came up with a version of the rush defence themselves against the All Blacks in Sydney on Saturday, which flustered New Zealand and gave Australia an early lead.
With his stock of players as depleted as Zimbabwe's reserve bank, Jones is having to shoehorn men into positions and gameplans they may not be entirely used to.
He learnt on Monday that Stirling Mortlock's calf injury will take almost a month to heal, while Jeremy Paul's damaged neck tissue will keep him out for some time.
That adds to an injury list that already includes Stephen Larkham and Wendell Sailor, among others, with Mat Rogers being an outside chance to return. It is looking more likely that former Sharks and under-21 star Clyde Rathbone could play at outside centre, his preferred position, although Lote Tuqiri is also being considered for the midfield.
"We've always said that we wanted Lote to be the best winger in the world before we looked at him in any other positions, but he has the potential to play at 13. He would be a different sort of 13 to your Morgan Turinui or Stirling Mortlock. He's not a guy who runs through walls. Lote's more a stepper, but he's still a big guy who is quick. It is a possibility for the future," said Jones.
The Springboks, while wary of complacency because of the Wallabies' ailments, have welcomed not being the centre of attention in Perth and ran through a smooth and slick training session on Monday. With Fourie du Preez sitting out because of a stiff back from a gym session in the morning, Michael Claassens performed the backline drills, although the Blue Bull was persuaded to toss around a few balls later in the afternoon.
Marius Joubert, who has a hamstring problem, spent most of the afternoon at a Perth hospital trying to get an MRI scan on his lower back. Having to queue in a power cut at the hospital meant that he had to wait a little longer.
White implied on Monday that the Springboks would like to attack more on Saturday, but not at the cost of defence. One of the criticisms of South Africa is that they have scored tries from the mistakes of others, but, said White, reaping the benefits of good defence was one of the tenets of rugby. Counter-attack was the by-product of discipline and structure, he said.
"Even Tana Umaga said this week that one of the ways to get the ball back was by good defence. I know that ideally one should keep possession all the time and force the opponents to defend, but the game is also about how often you slow down your opponents' ball or take it away from their attack.
"You want a situation where your defence is so well organised that it could seem as if the opponents have more possession. The most-important thing is to control your defence. We would like to have more possession and attack more."
The Boks will do that with an unchanged team from the one that played at the All Blacks in Cape Town, with Ricky Januarie again preferred to Fourie du Preez. Januarie was more effective against George Gregan at Ellis Park and then when he came on at Loftus.
On Monday afternoon at team training Gert Smal and his forwards concentrated on their line-out calls, possibly with a view to making sure that after three matches against them, the Wallabies haven't worked them out just yet.