Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Duane and Co unlikely to start at Newlands? Coetzee wants to assess the mental state of his overseas arrivals
OVERSEAS- BASED Springboks Duane Vermeulen and Francois Louw may not be automatic starters against Ireland at Newlands next Saturday.
Toulon No 8 Vermeulen and Bath openside flank Louw, as well as Bordeaux prop Steven Kitshoff, are set to join up with the Boks in the Mother City tomorrow afternoon.
The trio missed the first week of the national team’s training camp at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport, ahead of a three-Test series against the Irish, because of World Rugby regulations.
While Kitshoff still has to compete with Tendai Mtawarira and Trevor Nyakane for the No 1 jersey, Vermeulen and Louw are viewed as the best players in their positions in the squad.
However, coach Allister Coetzee says he wants to assess their mindsets in relation to those already in the camp, as the trio are coming off a tough European season.
Coetzee has first-hand experience of players not quite being at the top of their game mentally when they return to a different set-up.
Then there is also the time factor, as Vermeulen, Louw,
and Kitshoff will have a week less to acclimatise to a new environment, as well as the type of game that Coetzee wants to the Boks to play going forward.
However, all three have played under Coetzee at the Stormers and Western Province, while they would have been kept up-to-date about the goings-on in the camp.
“We always knew there will be time limitations. We are prepared for that,” Coetzee said yesterday after the Boks’ final training session in Stellenbosch.
“I will get my head around that this weekend, based on the training we have gone through and based on a lot of discussions. I will have to ascertain the level of the overseas players mentally, where they are at mentally.
“This is something I have experienced in Cur- rie Cup playoffs, when the Springboks come back to your province. “The first thing you look at is if there is a connection from where we are and what we have built up, to how they see and understand it.” One selection that is going to be fairly straightforward for Coetzee is at inside centre, following the news of Jan Serfontein’s injury setback.
Serfontein experienced a pain in his wrist this week and scans have revealed a fracture. He will see a specialist in Pretoria this weekend but it’s likely that he will be sidelined for up to four months, which would also end his Super Rugby campaign for the Bulls.
So, the Stormers’ Damian de Allende should start at No 12 for the Boks on Saturday.
“It’s certainly a setback to potentially lose Jan,” Coetzee said. “He’s been there and done it before, and you always want to have your best players available. He could be out for a period of time, although the exact length of that (layoff) will be dependent on the scans he undergoes in Pretoria.
“Should he be declared unavailable, as expected, he will not be replaced in the squad. We’re covered with what we have at the moment.
“We won’t make any rash decisions. JP Pietersen can play there, and Pat Lambie can play there… I’m not saying that’s where we’re going, but there is enough cover.”
Good news from Coetzee is that he expects Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies (broken finger) to be available next weekend, while injured lock Pieter-Steph du Toit (hamstring) is making steady progress and could still feature in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the Boks bid farewell to their Stellenboschbase yesterday for some rest and relaxation before meeting up in Cape Town tomorrow night ahead of a training session in Belhar on Monday.
Coetzee says he is quite pleased with what his charges have achieved this past week, adding that his squad have managed to gel as a team since getting together six days ago.
“You want to make sure that this team comes together and understand the culture. I’m also happy with that area,” he said.
“There was a lot of energy this week, a lot of excitement and a lot of positivity. There is still a lot of work to be done next week. We worked on us, and next week we will have a good balance in terms of what we can expect from the Irish.”