With the World Cup in New Zealand looming next year, senior Springboks will be rested for the end-of-year Grand Slam tour.
The Times online reports that under-fire Springbok coach Peter de Villiers revealed in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Times this week that he had had a change of mind and would rest the players – who include captain John Smit, vice-captain Victor Matfield, Schalk Burger, Bryan Habana, Danie Rossouw, Jaque Fourie and Morne Steyn – for the matches against the Home Nations: Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England.
De Villiers had long resisted calls for the senior players to be omitted from the end-of-year tour to allow them to rest. But he now appears to have recognised the error in this thinking.
SA kicks off its Grand Slam tour against Ireland in Dublin on November 6 followed by Wales on November 13 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Scotland at Murrayfield on November 20 and England at Twickenham on November 27.
De Villiers – who is under intense scrutiny following three consecutive losses during the Tri-Nations – also blamed over-confidence for the Boks’ recent poor form.
SW Note: This article was originally posted in the Sunday times of 15 August and seems to have gone by completely unnoticed.
Tweet
VERY wise decision this.
let’s just hope we don’t have all and sundry crying for the coaches head because we have not won every match on tour.
@ KSA
I would love to win the grand slam though!!
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 2) :
Same here but I would love it just that little bit more to win the RWC. 😀
And I can’t believe I didn’t think to post an article.. I read the bloody article on Sunday morning..
Oh well.. Now we know..
Good point!
Our chat really got me thinking on who will take over..
Quite an interesting problem we have..
Do you Lambie will go on this tour?
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 6) : He could be a possible but i’d prefer not. I’d let him settle in a position first.
None of the Fullbacks are being rested.
But a flyhalf is. 😉
This is a great idea in my opinion. They should also be rest in the CC semis and final though.
GO BOKKE!! 😎
Do you know who wrote this article?
@Clayton(PJLD) (Comment 10) :
Nope the author is not mentioned. Exclusive to the Sunday time though so i suspect it might be Simnikiwe Xabanisa
@Jarson (Comment 8) : Hehehehehhehe
That way we have a MUCH better chance of winning 🙂
@KSA Shark © (Comment 11) : Coolio
RWC 2011
eeeeaaaahhhhh
Can anybody tell me when the WC is to start 2011 😳