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Rassie wants same intensity against Canadians

rugby07 October 2019 02:50| © SuperSport
By:Gavin Rich
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Rassie Erasmus © Gallo Images

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has issued a simple and unambiguous message to the players who will face Canada at the Kobe Misaki Stadium on Tuesday - retain the same intensity that the team showed against Italy or you can forget about playing in the knock-out phases.

A lot has changed since Canada proved difficult opponents to many of the teams they faced in the 1991 and 1995 World Cups and the Boks should canter past them. Erasmus has chosen give or take a name or two what you could call his alternative team for the final Pool game, but that does not mean this game doesn’t have relevance to what will come later in the form of the high-pressure sudden death phase of the tournament.

Erasmus was happy with the intensity which the players produced in the impressive 49-3 win over Italy in Shizuoka at the start of the weekend and he wants that intensity to be retained against Canada.

“The team make-up might be a bit different but we expect the same intensity, we expect the same intensity in the next four games hopefully,” said Erasmus.

“It doesn’t help if you get a good score but you don’t improve and one area that will be vital in the knock-outs will be intensity and the ability to produce in the big moments. That demands an 80 minute focus.

“You know the intensity will need to be high in the quarterfinal and the semifinal. So if this team struggles to meet the requirement and struggles to match what the guys did against Italy then they will struggle to remain in the frame for team selection. Unfortunately that (play with intensity) is one of the things you have to do if you want to make the team.”

There shouldn’t be any question of the Boks not beating Canada and advancing to the quarterfinals, but apart from the aforementioned intensity there will be a number of areas of focus for Erasmus with the quarterfinals in mind.

CHANCE FOR MIDFIELD TO SHINE

One of those is certainly the midfield, where Damian de Allende is looking more and more like a player who is well suited to outside centre. He has played in bits and pieces together with Frans Steyn in the midfield but this is the first time the pair start together. It is hard to see Erasmus dropping Lukhanyo Am, who was good against Italy, but certainly a strong showing from Steyn and De Allende will make him very comfortable about his alternative midfield, meaning the back-up option.

There is a chance that Jesse Kriel will return to Japan as his rehabilitation from a slight hamstring strain was expected to be quick. It was more a case of him not being available right now than the possibility he wouldn’t be available for the later knock-out games that prompted Erasmus to decide he should go home, but if there is an injury he can return, as can Trevor Nyakane if his rehabilitation goes according to plan.

But for now Erasmus does need the comfort of knowing he has a ready made solution should Am be injured or lose form and the Steyn/De Allende does have a lot to recommend it now that De Allende is living up to his self-professed quest to play the rugby that made him a Springbok in the first place.

Steyn looked rusty against Namibia, which was understandable if you think he hadn’t played for a while, and was much sharper when he came on against Italy. There are some who debate his worth to the squad, but he does give the Boks forward momentum when he is on the field. With some game time behind him now, Tuesday could well see Steyn produce the kind of performance that made him a World Cup winner in 2007.

Talking of 2007, if someone is to fulfil the role Steyn played then - he came into the starting team as a 20-year-old as a replacement for the injured Jean de Villiers - it could be Damian Willemse. Erasmus’ decision to play him at fullback is a good one.

PRESSURE ON ELTON TO UP HIS GAME

Elton Jantjies was even more rusty than Steyn against Namibia and will be looking to confirm that game time has also sorted him out. A good, solid performance behind what should be a dominant pack should give Jantjies some confidence as well as increasing the confidence of his coach in his ability to slot into the first choice team later in the tournament should it be necessary.

Erasmus was quite effusive at the team announcement press conference about the form of Siya Kolisi, who will play his second game in the space of just four days.

“Choosing Siya for this game came from the similar sort of reasoning that the All Blacks would have applied when they played both Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett in their previous game. Mo’unga had been struggling after being out with a shoulder injury but then he hit form and it was important for him to keep that form ahead of the more important games to come,” said Erasmus.

“Siya is peaking at exactly the right time. He was not at his best in our pre-World Cup warm-up game against Japan, but he was better against the All Blacks before struggling later in the game and then he was excellent against Italy. Another game like that will do him good.”

FOUR DAY TURN-AROUND POSES CHALLENGES

Some of the Boks have admitted that the four day turn-around has presented an interesting little challenge for them in terms of how it differs from their usual routine. With the game on Tuesday, Sunday effectively became like a Thursday to them, and yet some of them played a game just two days before that.

“The draw took place a long time ago so we always knew we’d have first the six day turn-around from Namibia to Italy and then the four day turn-around from Italy to Canada, so we have prepared for it,” said Erasmus.

“We will have only one training session (Sunday) in which we will incorporate everything, including defence, set-pieces, kicking and other aspects we would usually work on before a game. But we did work a bit on Canada last week with the guys who did not play against Italy.”

The Springboks can look forward to two days off after the Canada game. There will be no training on Wednesday and Thursday so that the players will get an opportunity to refresh both their minds and their bodies before returning to training at the start to the preparation phase to the play-offs on Friday.

Meanwhile Canada have made six changes to the side that played the All Blacks. Hubert Buydens, Andrew Quattrin and Jake Ilnicki form a completely new front row. Kyle Baille makes his first World Cup appearance. Phil Mack and Andrew Coe come into the backs. Canada have changed both their props for the third time in this World Cup and wing DTH van der Merwe will make a record 15th appearance for Canada in World Cups, going ahead of Rod Snow and Jamie Cudmore, who he tied with on 14 appearances in the All Black game.

Teams

South Africa: Damian Willemse, Warrick Gelant, Damian de Allende, Frans Steyn, Sbu Nkosi, Elton Jantjies, Cobus Reinach, Francois Louw, Siya Kolisi (captain), Kwagga Smith, Franco Mostert, RG Snyman, Vincent Koch, Schalk Brits, Thomas du Toit.

Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Herschel Jantjies, Handre Pollard, Willie le Roux.

Canada: Andrew Coe, Jeff Hassler, Conor Trainor, Ciaran Hearn, DTH van der Merwe, Peter Nelson, Phil Mack, Tyler Ardron (captain), Matt Heaton, Lucas Rumball, Kyle Baillie, Evan Olmstead, Jake Ilnicki, Andrew Quattrin, Hubert Buydens.

Replacements: Benoit Piffero, Djustice Sears-Duru, Matt Tierney, Josh Larsen, Michael Sheppard, Jamie Mackenzie, Shane O’Leary, Guiseppe du Toit.

Referee: Luke Pearce (England)

Kick-off: 12.15pm SA time

Prediction: Boks to win by 60

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