Half-Backs Making the Difference in Tri-Nations
Heading into the 2010 Tri-Nations tournament it was expected that the scrum would make the biggest difference in deciding the winner. The hulking front line of the South African Springboks looked to be unbeatable. The New Zealand All Blacks and Australian Wallabies were not thought to contend with such a small group of forwards. However, as the All Blacks have shown over the past two weeks, size is not the deciding factor this year. Instead, it has been the skill of the backs, the half-backs in particular, that has given the All Blacks an advantage, and soon could give the Wallabies the advantage over the large Springbok side.
New Zealand
The New Zealand half-backs never looked more comfortable than they did against the Springboks in Wellington over the weekend. The combination of Piri Weepu and Jimmy Cowan have controlled play, as well as added a couple of points of their own over the past two weeks. In the first match, Cowan and Weepu split time, as Cowan suffered an injury in the second half. Nevertheless, both players preformed admirably, controlling play and speeding up the game on the lumbering South African side. They looked better prepared and connected then their Springboks counterparts. The first half of the second match belonged to Weepu, as he notched a penalty kick and helped on a Rene Ranger try, before being subbed off part way through the second half. Cowan came on and did not let the game slow up, keeping the pace going and helping another try for the All Black victory.
It is fair to mention that the play of the New Zealand fly-half Dan Carter has been tremendous, he has been very strong from the tee, managing to match all-star South African fly-half Morne Steyn.
Australia
There is no doubt that the young Australian side will be looking to emulate much of the New Zealand game plan. They have some very speedy backs and the return of half-back Will Genia from injury can only help the squad keep up its pace. Genia comes back to work with teammate Quade Cooper, and will look to complicate things for the South African front eight.
Suncorp is said to be one of the fastest pitches in the Southern Hemisphere, a fact that can only aid the Wallabies going into the weekend.
South Africa
The Springboks have struggled at the half-back position, and their lack of pace and the disconnect between their forwards and backs over the last two weeks has been the result. Fourie du Preez was meant to start the Tri-Nations for the Boks, but after an injury, head coach Peter de Villiers had to fill the position. De Villiers finally decided on Ricky Januarie, who has looked out of sorts over the past two matches, causing de Villiers to make yet another change at the position and bring in Ruan Pienaar. The hope is that, with the addition of Pienaar, the Boks will be able to keep up at the back end with the speedy Wallabies.
De Villiers had this to say about the fast Suncorp surface and his changes: “Statistics show that Suncorp has the fastest playing surface in the Super 14 and we have to be prepared for a faster game...We have two tough games behind us, but if we stick to our structures and use our opportunities I believe this team is capable of getting a result.”
The Boks have been relying too heavily on the boot of Steyn, who scored all 12 of their points in the opener and notched seven of their 17 in the second match. However, the number of penalties that have been attempted by Steyn shows that the Boks are not confident in their backs ability to move the ball across the try line.
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