Bekker Out For Aussie Clash
Andries Bekker will not play for South Africa in the Tri Nations match against Australia this weekend because of an acute disc injury.
The Springboks coach, Peter de Villiers, announced the news as he toys over the idea of making tweaks to his team, who have not set the world on fire in the Tri Nations like many expected that they would.
The player picked up the injury during the second Tri Nations match against New Zealand. He immediately looked in pain and the confirmation that it was a bad injury has come only days after the second contest with New Zealand.
The news will have a negative impact on the South African side who are looking to dominate this Tri Nations series. However, there will now be a chance for another player and they are likely to raise their game because of this.
Negative Impact
The reason that this news will have a negative impact on the team is because Bekker is one of the bigger and better members of the side. Therefore, the Springboks may have to opt for a player with less stature and experience to come in and fill his place.
The injury is almost like rubbing salt into South African wounds because of the way the country have played so far during the Tri Nations. It was important that South Africa could keep a strong and unified team together as they try to get over defeats at the hands of New Zealand.
De Villiers said: "It is a setback but we will have to deal with it. That is part of the game. We have to rely on the strength within our squad for the Test. It is a blow for Andries too as he was just coming back from a previous injury. As expected there are a few niggles but it is good news for us that we came away from Wellington with just a single serious injury and can assemble a strong line-up for the Brisbane Test."
A Chance
Bekker's unfortunate exit from the team means that someone else will get a chance to pull on the green jersey and represent South Africa. This may be a chance that certain players may not be expecting and this can have a positive effect over the team.
It means that the replacement is going to raise his game to make the most of a chance he did not think he would have. This can spread to the rest of the team and this will be important because South Africa need a win against Australia to get back in the Tri Nations competition.
The coach has not yet named the possible players that could take Bekker's place in the team. Lock is a very tricky position to cover in for most players who haven't had experience playing it. The coach cannot be blamed for taking his time over such an important decision.
Betting Advice
Australia have struggled through recent international matches and South Africa will be the favourites for this game despite their poor results against New Zealand. However, it looks set to be a tight match and a bet placed on South Africa winning by a narrow margin makes good sense.
It's important to remember that the main reason that Aussies have struggled recently is because of injuries. They are getting players back all the time and this means they will be much harder to beat. De Villiers has a number of replacements he could possibly choose but until this decision is made public it's impossible to work out the individuals to back.
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