Mulling over the impact factor

The Springbok squad for the World Cup has been announced and now starts the build-up to the main event.

Unlike in previous years there was no major controversy preceding the announcement, and when the team trained at Bishops on Sunday, it provided confirmation that this time there will be no Staaldraad.

With regards to the 30 men who will do duty at the World Cup, there is not much to quibble about. The squad was an open secret for some time before the announcement, and Jake White’s policy of continuity in selection drastically reduced the surprise factor when the players' names were read out at a lavish function at a Cape Town shopping centre.

Rugby traditionalists have questioned the point of all the pomp and ceremony, wondering why, if the squad was such a foregone conclusion, it was necessary for such a fuss. But the New Zealand and Australian squads are also pretty much cut and dried, and they will also be named in similar fashion. Apart from giving the sponsors some payback for all the money they plough into the team and the sport, it creates a sense of beginning for the World Cup campaign.

If that is so, you could say that the Springbok World Cup campaign began on the day that the Vodacom Tri-Nations ended. South Africa’s last place in the tournament would have been cause for concern in any other year, but not this one. The Bok coach was clear after the home leg what the remaining matches were all about, and he would have achieved his objective.

So now begins the hard part of starting to apply what he would have learned from this year’s edition of the annual southern hemisphere tournament. And after the third late surge from the All Blacks in four starts, it is crystal clear that White’s immediate objective is not to settle on a 15-man starting team for the big games, but on a match 22 that can effectively blunt New Zealand’s 22-man assault.

In Durban the All Blacks won because the bench proved a critical factor in the contest. Graham Henry used up almost all his replacements, and although there were less than seven points in it at the final whistle, there was no denying that the Kiwis were the dominant force towards the end – and getting stronger.

Ironically, the Springbok bench had been pivotal in the great win over Australia in Cape Town the previous week. You will remember those two Francois Steyn drop-goals and the Bok control towards the end of that game was almost as complete as the All Black control was a week later.

The All Blacks again relied heavily on their fresh legs in turning what was a dour, tense struggle against the Bok second string team into a comprehensive victory in Christchurch, and Keven Mealamu and company repeated the trick again in the wet in the finale on Saturday as the New Zealanders complete a hat-trick of Tri-Nations titles.

So, who will be the big impact players in the Bok effort at this World Cup? Francois Steyn is a near certainty, while Bob Skinstad did the job effectively for the Sharks in the Super 14 and could be relied upon to do it again if Pierre Spies is the man to start. There is also of course Danie Rossouw, depth at lock with both Albert van den Berg and Johan Muller boasting experience of the impact role, and CJ van der Linde is another who can definitely add substance coming on later in the game.

Bismarck du Plessis, who lost out to Gary Botha for this event, made a difference when he came on for the Sharks in the recent Super 14, and White must have sweated long and hard before eventually deciding to go with Botha’s greater experience and long-standing partnership with the Bulls jumpers ahead of Du Plessis’s physical presence. When it comes to the backs other than Steyn, however, the options are a lot less clear. It is going to be particularly interesting to see who White chooses as his back-up scrumhalf. Ruan Pienaar, with his versatility, should be the sure bet, particularly now that he has played a couple of test matches there, but White has also long argued the case for Ricky Januarie. One of the few questionable aspects of the squad was the fact that there are only three centres in the group. Wynand Olivier has a lot of detractors at the moment, but he is a good ball player and is a touch more versatile than both Wayne Julies and Waylon Murray, the players who missed out. It is debatable though whether he provides any impact value, and if André Pretorius is fit, he is probably more likely to be the other backline reserve. Do these players pack as much punch as their All Black counterparts? Time will tell, but anyway the immediate priority should be the England game, where this aspect might be less crucial. Talking of Pretorius, what is White going to do if first-choice flyhalf Butch James is injured? Pretorius is a different mould of player to the more direct James, while Derick Hougaard did not impress in New Zealand and Australia. Frans Steyn is too young to be start there in a really big game. Perhaps Peter Grant’s performances in the Currie Cup could have an impact on who plays if James is forced out at a crucial stage of the tournament.