Meyer wants Boks to move it
December 2, 2000

Former Springbok forwards coach Heyneke Meyer says the South Africa pack must avoid a gruelling physical battle with their England counterparts in Saturday's Test at Twickenham.

Meyer wants the Boks to use their possession quickly and intelligently, giving the maximum chance to gamebreakers like Percy Montgomery, Breyton Paulse and Robbie Fleck to make their mark.

Springbok coach Harry Viljoen has retained lightweight Sharks lock Albert van den Berg in his starting line-up when he may have gone for the more aggressive Hottie Louw. But Meyer cautions against unfairly criticising Viljoen.

"It all depends on what game plan we are going to play," said the new Blue Bulls coach. "Hottie is a great player and I believe one of the best locks in the country, but Albert has his own unique qualities. He is very competitive on lineout ball and guarantees plenty of possession.

"He isn't as physical a lock as Hottie, but that might not count for much at the end of the day. Mark Andrews is as physical a lock as any in world rugby and we have other players who can stand tall against the English hard men like Martin Johnson and Lawrence Dallaglio.

"Corne Krige is in a class of his own as far as flanks go. He's like a bull terrier and will certainly keep the English busy. And don't forget about Andre Venter.

"I'm also confident that John Smit will come through fine in the scrums. He's a former prop and a good scrummagger with a lot of aggression. A few people feel that Charl Marais should have started, but there's really a very fine line between the players and they can all do the job."

Meyer believes that the Springbok pack would be falling into England's trap if they concentrate too heavily on fighting fire with fire.

"We cannot get caught in a forward battle. We must try and get quick second-phase ball and use it to bring guys like Monty, Fleckie and Breyton into the game. That was one of the problems that held us back against Ireland and Wales.

"We have better gamebreakers than England and that can prove the difference in the end. Remember, when England beat us in June, Jonny Wilkinson basically did it all on his own (with the England flyhalf's boot scoring all his team's points in a 27-22 win)."

Meyer points out, however, that England possess possibly the most structured defence in the game and the Boks will have to be patient in probing for their opportunities to strike. He feels that fly-half Braam van Straaten and centre Japie Mulder will have crucial roles to play.

"England defend extremely well out wide and we must avoid at all costs trying to run the ball from behind the advantage line. Our backs must not lie too deep behind the forwards. It will be important for Japie to harass the England centres and also for Braam to keep the ball behind the England forwards.

"This will keep our guys moving forward and will quickly tire out the big England pack in what is supposed to be heavy underfoot conditions. If we try to run everything, we will take our forwards out of the game and we cannot afford that.

"We must cut out the errors and ensure that we control the possession because ball control will decide the game. The more we lose the ball, the more mistakes we make, the more scrums and penalties we will give away and the more tired our pack becomes.

"By playing the right game tactically, we can turn England around and ensure that they are the ones defending. Sooner or later the gaps will start appearing and that's when our backs can stamp their authority on the game."

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