Springboks not taking any chances as they name strong side to face Samoa - Rugby World Cup 2011
South Africa has listed a strong side to face the uneven Samoans on September 30 at North Harbour in Auckland. They have featured seven changes in the side which produced an exceptionally good performance against Namibia last Thursday. Boks skipper Victor
Matfield will be seen in action after missing two consecutive matches of the ongoing global show due to a hamstring injury.
The Springboks coach, Peter de Villiers, told the media that the Pacific Island squad is a team that has becomes stronger over time and his line-up could not afford to under estimate them. This caution seems apparent from the strong roster South Africa will
be using during the game.
The coach further added that, “They are a much improved side. They have been together for a longer period now than they have been in the past, and they are a well coached side at the moment. They do play with a lot of structure but within the structure the
players are still given a lot of freedom.”
The defending champions started off their Rugby World Cup campaign in a sluggish way and hardly managed to overcome the Welsh side by a narrow margin of 17-16 in their opening game. Later on, the side brought some versatility to their game and clinched an
impressive victory against the underdog Fijians on September 17. They produced the best results of the current Webb Ellis Trophy against Namibia by thumping them with a massive difference of 87-0 on September 22.
Looking back at South Africa’s performances in the event so far de Villiers stated, “We weren’t too bad but we did struggle a little bit in the lineouts against Namibia. With Victor back we should be a much bigger threat on their ball. Victor knows his stuff
and knows what it is about.”
The Springboks side that will face Samoa in Auckland will include:
South Africa: 15 Pat Lambie, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie Du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Jannie Du Plessis,
2 Bismarck Du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 CJ van der Linde, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Jean De Villiers
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