The Bok side to play Samoa at Loftus on Saturday:

Springboks: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Bryan Habana, 13. JJ Engelbrecht, 12. Jean de Villiers (captain) / Jan Serfontein, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Ruan Pienaar, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Willem Alberts / Siya Kolisi, 6. Francois Louw, 5. Flip van der Merwe, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Adriaan Strauss, 1. Tendai Mtawarira

Bench: 16. Bismarck du Plessis, 17. Trevor Nyakane, 18. Coenie Oosthuizen, 19. Juandre Kruger, 20. Siya Kolisi / Marcell Coetzee, 21. Piet van Zyl, 22. Pat Lambie, 23. Jan Serfontein / Juan de Jongh

Captain Jean de Villiers will be given until Friday to prove that he has fully recovered from a sternum injury, which has kept him off the training field so far this week.

The Springboks face Samoa in the final match of the quadrangular at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. The team shows three changes – all of them in the pack – from the side which beat Scotland by 30-17 in Nelspruit last weekend.

The backline will be unchanged from last weekend, should De Villiers’ pass his fitness test.

If De Villiers can’t play, Jan Serfontein will start at inside centre, with Juan de Jongh coming onto the bench. Adriaan Strauss will then lead the Springboks to become South Africa’s 55th Test captain and Bryan Habana will take over the vice-captaincy.

“Jean is an integral member of our squad and we will give him all the time he needs to get back to full fitness,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

“Luckily we have a strong group of leaders in the squad and if Jean doesn’t make it, Adriaan will take over the captaincy, with support provided by Francois Louw, Pierre Spies, Bryan Habana and Bismarck du Plessis.”

Upfront, the injured Arno Botha is replaced at flank by Willem Alberts, who has been struggling with a side strain.

Alberts, who has been training with the team this week, will have to pass a fitness test on Friday to prove that he has recovered fully from his injury. If he is not passed fit to play Samoa, Siya Kolisi will start in his place and Marcell Coetzee will be included on the bench.

Francois Louw returns on the other flank after missing last weekend’s match because of his wedding. The third and final change to the starting line-up is at lock, where Flip van der Merwe comes in for Juandré Kruger.

“Francois was always going to be back this week and Willem has been our first-choice ball carrier, so it’s been good to have them back on the training field,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

“Because Willem is returning from an injury, we decided to start with him. Siya played very well last weekend and it is great to have someone of his versatility on the bench. We saw last week how valuable it is to have replacement players who can make a real impact late in the match.

“I’m happy that we’ve been able to keep some form of continuity during these Tests, especially in the backline, where a number of exciting new players have come in and put up their hands during Vodacom Super Rugby and in the last two weeks.”

Meyer said the match against Samoa will be a proper test for his squad.

“They have a strong squad and have benefited from having their best players compete in Super Rugby and at the top club level in Europe, but our focus is on putting in an improved performance from last week,” said Meyer.

The 23-8 win over Wales in front of a full house in Tokyo represents a first-ever victory over a senior Rugby-playing nation and perhaps an indication that Japanese Rugby is once again moving the right direction on the world stage.

For the organising body of Rugby World Cup 2019, the result was a timely boost, creating an opportunity to reach out to people outside of Japan’s Rugby community, raise awareness of the sport and its character-building values, and build momentum towards what promises to be an outstanding tournament.

General Manager Koji Tokumasu said: “Our objective for the next six years is to inspire and tell the people of Japan about this great tournament and its significant and unique social and economic benefits.”

“It is a natural fit for us. We have more than 110,000 registered players. In today’s congested entertainment and sports market, we need to reaffirm rugby’s values and sell our vision of a tournament for all of Asia. This is one of the world’s largest sporting events and will be the first major event in our magnificent new national stadium.”

The amount of registered players is amongst the world’s top five and the flag-bearer in Asia. Rugby is also winning over hearts and minds of new fans in Japan. The flagship domestic Top League is attracting some of the game’s biggest names, from Shane Williams, George Gregan and George Smith to Peter Grant, Jaque Fourie, Andries Bekker, Sonny Bill Williams, Ma’a Nonu and Jerome Kaino.

Earleir this year, the Tokyo leg of the record-breaking Sevens World Series attracted a strong attendance, while the men’s and women’s Japan Sevens teams have qualified for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013 in Moscow, underscoring their dominance of the game in Asia.

Japan Rugby Football Union President and former Japan Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said: “One of the most important aspects of preparation for Rugby World Cup 2019 is to make our national team competitive. This is a step in the right direction, but we need to keep focus on Rugby World Cup 2015 qualifying and taking another performance step forward at England 2015 once we get there.”

Saturday’s win was front-page news in Japan – inspiring a process already underway.

For the Blossoms, under coach Eddie Jones, managing expectations will be key, but as they move on to matches against the New Zealand Maori All Blacks and the climax of the IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2013 on home soil, the team acknowledges the role it needs to play to ensure the nation falls in love with Rugby.

Jones, a Rugby World Cup-winner in 2007 with South Africa, said: “While we should not get carried away with the victory, we recognise the role that the achievements of the team have played in putting Rugby back on the map here. We savour this moment, a significant moment for Japanese Rugby, but we have hard work ahead to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2015 and then nurture and finesse the class of 2019. It will be some journey but we are excited and the win at the weekend was a big step in that journey.”

Tank Lanning

Not entirely sure of it’s place on the rugby calendar given that we basically get to see one every weekend of the Sevens circuit, I was pleased to see the IRB announce their plan to alternate the Sevens World Cup with the Olympics.

The IRB went on to say that the decision to integrate the event within the middle of the Olympic cycle will provide a key high performance pathway for teams around the world, ensuring optimum competitiveness at the Olympic Games.

With 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams competing at the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, RWC Sevens 2013 currently includes 24 men’s and 16 women’s teams, thus providing vital world-class competition for a greater number of players.

RWC Sevens also provides opportunities to more cities to host a major international Rugby event, showcasing the Game to a global audience and driving interest and participation.

In order for the quadrennial tournament to be integrated into the Olympic cycle in the most effective manner, the next event following RWC Sevens 2013 in Moscow will take place in 2018.

This will ensure an Olympic Games or RWC Sevens will take place every two years and allow RWC Sevens to be used as a key springboard for our Unions towards the Games.

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “Moscow 2013 is a reflection of the truly global reach of our sport and the event is on track to be a wonderful success. With unprecedented interest in hosting Rugby Sevens events, spurred on by inclusion in the Olympic Games, I am sure we can anticipate a keenly contested tender process for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018.”

From June 28-30, the 2013 edition of the event takes place at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Tank Lanning

Only 19 years old, and a pocket rocket similar in body shape to the Baby Boks Chelsin Kolbe, Williams weighs in at only 81 kg’s and stands 1m73 tall, but the Scarlets fullback showed some scintillating skills against the Baby Boks.

The Baby Boks suffered the heartbreak of conceding a last-minute try and conversion to be edged out of the Junior World Championships, 18-17, (halftime 6-7) by Wales in Vannes, France, on Tuesday night.

The Boks, who never really completely in control of the match, had twice come from behind to hold the lead in the final quarter and looked on course for a place in Sunday’s final and a chance to retain the title they won in Cape Town last year.

Lock Irne Herbst collected a short throw at the front of the lineout to crash over for the first try and give South Africa a 7-6 lead on the half hour. Then tough as teak replacement flank Kwagga Smith reclaimed the lead for South Africa to make it 14-11 with 20 mins to go.

Handré Pollard, back at inside centre with Robert du Preez at flyhalf, in what has to be considered a strange selection, had converted both tries and added a penalty to give South Africa a 17-11 lead with five minutes remaining. However, Wales right wing Ashley Evans dived on flyhalf Sam Davies’ pinpoint chip to score, with Davies then converting from wide to give Wales a last-gasp victory.

With Du Preez back at flyhalf, the Baby Boks were too lateral, always shifting out rather than straightening the line to create space for the likes of Kolbe and Luthar Obi out wide. They also tended to kick too much ball away, and certainly did not boss the set pieces.

Coach Dawie Theron said Wales executed their game plan better on the day and kept the young South Africans in their own half for most part of the match with accurate kicks.

“They forced us to run from deep and then defended well, which frustrated us and, which in turn, led to some errors. I think their flyhalf kept his cool quite well to succeed with that kick,” said Theron.

Team captain, Ruan Steenkamp, echoed the words of his coach.  “We gave it our best effort but on the day it was not enough. They did their homework on us and never allowed us to create a platform for our backline. The boys are extremely disappointed because we are all very proud to represent our country.”

Try scorer Irné Herbst said the Welsh prevented his team mates from gaining the upper hand with some fierce tackling. “They persisted with their tactic of making us turn back with long kicks into our half. We tried our best and on the day it was unfortunately not good enough,” said Herbst.

South Africa – Tries: Irne Herbst, Kwagga Smith. Conversions: Handré Pollard (2). Penalty: Pollard.

Wales – Tries: Ellis Jenkins, Ashley Evans. Conversion: Sam Davies. Penalties: Sam Davies (2)

Wales and England will meet in the final in Vannes on Sunday, June 23.

For the first time, an JWC final will be contested without New Zealand. The Baby Blacks were upset 33-21by England’s Under 20s. Despite a strong performance by New Zealand in the second half, the English were always in control and will now go onto face their 6 Nations rivals for the trophy.

The other matches on Tuesday saw a win for hosts France over Ireland, Argentina beating Australia, Samoa recording a famous win over their Pacific rivals Fiji with the last play of the game, and Scotland hammering the inept USA 39-3.

As well as the England-Wales final, New Zealand will play South Africa in the battle for bronze, France will challenge Argentina in the fifth place play-off, Ireland face Australia in the seventh place final, Samoa take on Scotland for ninth and Fiji will play USA in the battle to avoid last place in the tournament.

De Villiers injured his right sterno-clavicular joint and second rib early in last weekend’s victory over Scotland in Nelspruit.

“Jean was able to continue playing but was in some discomfort after the game,” said Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts. “He could not train on Monday and we will reassess him in the next few days before making a final call on his availability to face Samoa.”

Apart from the injuries to De Villiers and loose forward Arno Botha, who has been ruled out of rugby for the rest of the season with a serious knee ligament injury, there were only a few more bumps and bruises from the Scotland match.

Pierre Spies and Jannie du Plessis both sustained lacerations to the face, while Eben Etzebeth complained of mild discomfort in his AC joint.

These three players, as well Willem Alberts, did not take part in the full training session on Monday.

“Willem is returning from a side strain and his workload during the early part of the week will be managed, but at this stage he’s looking good for a possible return this weekend,” said Roberts.

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said no risks will be taken with any player who is not 100% fit to play.

“We have a very good medical team and will see how Jean and Willem react to treatment this week before making a final call on their availability for Saturday’s match against Samoa, which we’re expecting to be quite physical,” said Meyer.

“Injuries are part of the game. We already lost four injured players during this series – Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jano Vermaak, Francois Hougaard and Arno.

“Furthermore, we could not consider a number of other injured players who were part of our training group in the last year, like Frans Malherbe, Pat Cilliers, Duane Vermeulen, Cobus Reinach, Johan Goosen, Jaco Taute, JP Pietersen and Frans Steyn.”

This time last week, we were all cock a hoop re a potential “New Bok dawn” … Yet a mere seven days later the Italian side that the Boks looked very good against for forty minutes has taken a proper hammering from Samoa, and the Boks have needed a questionable yellow card to get past a side fuelled by the passion of “Flower of Scotland” …

Talk about perspective!

And the book of clichés rears it’s ugly head … “Seven days is a long time in rugby” … “You are only as good as your last game” … But the one that strikes a chord for me is that old chestnut: “You need to earn the right to go wide”, with the Boks, perhaps believing the smoke that the likes of this columnist blew up their arses last week, trying too much, too soon, and thus playing helter skelter rugby for the first fifty minutes or so.

And it happens often to teams up against opposition deemed inferior. Believing the game to be won before taking the field, the side starts the game by throwing the ball around, expecting the gaps to just open up.

The problem, of course, was that someone forgot to let the Scots know the script, and instead of wilting meekly in the face of the mighty Boks, they chose to front up with passion, guts, brutal in your face defence, and an open side flanker willing to live on the edge of the legal envelope and take a battering to the body for his team.

Alisdair Strokosch ruled the roost at Mbombela stadium. Bok replacement flank Siya Kolisi, as good as he was in open play in a fairytale Bok debut, and Marcell Coetzee had nothing on Strokosch, and as such, the Boks were bossed at the breakdown. All good open-siders live on the envelope of legality, and many might argue that the shaven haired Scot with a black belt in karate was given too much leeway by referee Romain Poite. But against the likes of the All Blacks and the Aussies, this will be the norm, and the Boks will need to adapt or die …

The best way to take an open-sider out the game is to take away their playground, that being the breakdown. This through having a dominant scrum that guarantees you a right shoulder on attack and a left shoulder on defence, so your open-sider has the shortest line to the breakdown, through cleaning out aggressively, timeously and effectively at the ruck, thus removing said Strokosch like thorn, and through meeting fire with fire with your own open-sider.

The Boks have an OK scrum (with a single tighthead prop almost out on his feet given that the next in line has not even been given time on the bench), a fairly poor clean out system given the want for the Bok forwards to carry rather than clean, and no out and out open-sider. It is no wonder they were bossed at the breakdown.

Yes, the Boks were missing both Francois Louw and Arno Botha on Saturday, but surely your backup should see you able to replace like with like? Bismarck du Plessis and Duane Vermeulen also play more to the ball than Adriaan Strauss and Pierre Spies, and make a big difference at the breakdown, but again, surely you select (or coach) accordingly?

How Heinrich Brussow and Philip van der Walt have not had a look in, and how Lourens Adriaanse, selected ahead of the inform Wiehahn Herbst as backup tighthead prop, has been left to carry the bags, is beyond me.

The bottom line, though, is that while it is fantastic to see the Boks adding an attacking element to their game, and long may that continue, it can only come into play after earning the right to use it by subduing the opposition up front first.

And as a result they will play Samoa, who were impressive against a flat Italian side, in the quadrangular final in Pretoria next Saturday.

Tank Lanning in White River …

The South Africans had to come from a 17-6 deficit in the second half of their clash to beat Scotland 30-17, whilst Samoa were too good for Italy on the day, easily beating them 39-10 after leading 10-3 at the break.

So South Africa top the log courtesy of a better points difference than Samoa and the two will clash in the main match of the Loftus Versfeld double header next weekend.

Scotland (3rd) and Italy (4th), both of whom have yet to win in the series, will contest the early match.

Match reviews …

South Africa 30 (6), Scotland 17 (10)

The Springboks regrouped timeously enough, perhaps thanks to a slightly questionable yellow card, after halftime to avoid embarrassment, but their 30-17 win over Scotland tested coach Heyneke Meyer’s team a lot more than many, no doubt including the actual players, expected.

And given the capitulation by a flat Italian side to the Samoans in the earlier game, perhaps last weekend’s win should be seen in a new light?

The Boks lost big ball carrying loose forward Arno Botha in the first minute of the match to a knee injury, which did not help their cause, although Meyer, rightfully, was very proud of the way replacement Siya Kolisi played.

“We have lost Arno for at least eight weeks, so it is a pity, but Siya really took his chance well. We were tested out there today, this was a proper test match,” Meyer said.

The coach admitted that they did not play well at the breakdowns, where Alisdair Strokosch ruled the roost. Good open siders live on the envelope of legality, but many would argue that the Scot was given too much leeway by referee Romain Poite. But against the likes of the All Blacks, this will be the norm, and the Boks will need to adapt or die …

With six minutes to go, there were only three points in it as the Boks led 20-17. It was then that replacement flyhalf Patrick Lambie stepped up to kick a penalty to make it a six point buffer and on the final whistle young centre Jan Serfontein barged through to score his firstTest try.

The first try of the match was created for the Scots by a great chip and gather out on the right and centre Matt Scott, who was a real menace for the home side in the first 20 minutes, scored. Laidlaw’s conversion was the last score of the half.

Outside centre Alex Dunbar went over in the left corner early in the second half, which is not what the Bok doctor would have ordered, the Boks seemingly having not given the Scots enough respect in the first half to first grind them down before brining in the tricksters …

The Boks benefitted from a penalty try as the pack rumbled up to the line from a lineout, Poite declaring that the maul had been brought down illegally, and then JJ Engelbrecht scored the try that put the Boks into a lead in the 55th minute that they were never to relinquish. Willie le Roux’s pass to Engelbrecht, which was timed perfection, made the try, but it was one of the few times that the exciting young fullback was allowed to showcase his skill set.

It was a proper wake up call for the Boks, who will need to be at their best if they are to get past the physical Samoans next weekend. While it is great to see the Boks showing more attacking intent, they will do well to do the hard yards up front first, preferably in the opposition half, before letting the ball do its work.

Ruan Pienaar, while not given the best ride in the world by his forwards, tended to kick too much, too many of which were aimless kicks that gave the ball away, and does not possess that crisp service that Jano Vermaak put to great use last weekend.

South Africa – Tries: Penalty try, JJ Engelbrecht, Jan Serfontein. Conversions: Mornè Steyn (2), Pat Lambie. Penalties: Steyn (2), Lambie.

Scotland – Tries: Matt Scott, Alex Dunbar. Conversions: Greig Laidlaw (2). Penalty: Laidlaw

Samoa 39 (10), Italy 10 (3)

Apart from captain Sergio Parisse, who certainly is classy, there was little to write home about for the Azzurri, as their second outing in South Africa ended in just as big a defeat as the first one.

Samoa’s hard-running style, physical ability at the breakdowns and improvement in the scrums was there to see from last weekend. They opened their scoring when Tusi Pisi broke through the midfield and sent the ball wide for Paul Williams to score. Italian flyhalf Luciano Orquera got his side on the board with a penalty but it wasn’t long before Williams had restored the lead.

Pisi again saw some space behind the gain line and put through the perfect grubber for Alapati Leiua to time his run perfectly and score the second try.

Samoa kicked another penalty and killed off any chance of the match being a contest as they stole a great ball in their own 22, took the ball up and watched as Johnny Leota ran 70 metres to outstrip the defence and put them way out in front.

The Samoans’ fourth try was just as impressive on the counter-attack, but had to be confirmed upstairs as Wayne Ole Avei looked to be in touch as he passed inside to Taiasina Tuifua for the try. Leiua was sent to the sin bin late in the game for a professional foul and applying pressure in the maul the Italians finally were rewarded as Craig Joubert awarded a penalty try, taking them to double figures.

Samoa – Tries: Paul Williams, Alapati Leiua, Johnny Leota, Taiasina Tuifua, Brandon Va’aulu. Conversions: Williams (3), Ki Anufe. Penalties: Williams (2).

Italy – Try: Penalty try. Conversion: Alberto Di Bernardo. Penalty: Luciano Orquera.

Weekend results:

Canada 14 – 40 Ireland
Argentina 26 – 51 England
South Africa 30 – 17 Scotland
Italy 10 – 39 Samoa
New Zealand 30 – 0 France
Japan 23 – 8 Wales
Waratahs 17 – 47 British and Irish Lions

The following statement was issued on Friday:

I thank you for your interest in The Sharks. Although one may wish to discretely follow a chosen strategy, I do believe The Sharks to be public property and the public are deserving of clarification of major decisions made.

The Board has resolved to appoint John Smit. John is a legend of South African Rugby. It was felt that the Board could assist in the commercial running of the business but needed a CEO who truly understands the engine room of rugby. The reality, we are all acutely aware of, is regardless of commercial success, the public barometer of success by which The Sharks are measured, is winning.

We felt that John would not only stand the best chance of achieving these objectives but also felt that his presence and leadership will provide a conducive environment to inspire and guide all stakeholders. John enjoys the unanimous support of the entire Board.

We recognise too that John may not have all the commercial experience yet. We have a Board and a management team to guide him in these areas. Our advice to John was, listen carefully before acting and at all times be honest and transparent. Recent actions may seem to contradict the advice given. However, the actions taken were not malicious and are explained below.

John Plumtree, who has served The Sharks with both loyalty and much success and, not withstanding that he has a contract until the end of 2013, he needed certainty on his future beyond that. He informed The Sharks that he had been approached with other options to consider and personal issues viz schooling that needed addressing.

The easiest decision and the line of least resistance for John Smit to take would have been to say “He needed time”, he could have delayed his call for months until he was entrenched as CEO.

However, consistent with both his own integrity and the Board’s guidance on Honesty and Transparency, he grasped the nettle and did not opt for the expedient approach. This approach was also in part accelerated by comments attributed to Nick Mallet and then taken to end further destructive speculation.

John Smit, has a vision on how he wants to run The Sharks and the Board cannot ask him as CEO to take accountability and then choose his team for him. These are really tough decisions and are never clean cut. John Smit has had the benefit of playing under both coaches and rates them both highly. The intensity of the debate is a positive reflection of the performance of John Plumtree. John Smit is our chosen leader and a man of substance. He has made his choice and I can only ask Shark supporters to get behind him and the team as our season unfolds.

A further issue, I would like to address is the Liquor Board matter.

Contrary to some public opinion, The Sharks are working actively in trying to reach an acceptable conclusion here. We would like things to remain as they were but we need to act responsibly and acknowledge:

We have had a tragic death at our stadium. Irresponsible abuse of alcohol is a scourge in our society and it will not be encouraged in our stadium.

The Liquor Board has a duty to make sure that the above areas are properly addressed.
We are engaging with the authorities. We sense your frustration, but given the magnitude of the issues, we cannot promise overnight resolution. We can tell you that the authorities to date, have not been obstructive but driven by a sincere desire to find solutions that address both safety and the need for responsible drinking particularly given the family environment that we wish to retain at KINGS PARK.

Change is always traumatic. There is no easy way to deal with change. However, The Sharks are in a new era. We, the Board, are positive that the changes made, will with the passing of time, be shown to build on the solid platform created at The Sharks.

Thank you for all the support, interest and loyalty, you have demonstrated to The Sharks. John and team, through both their performance and conduct, will endeavor to repay this loyalty to you both on and off the field.

Issued By

Stephen Saad
Chairman of The Sharks (PTY) Ltd

How the hell does Wiehahn Herbst go from pushing incumbent Bok tighthead prop for a start in the Sharks Super Rugby side to tanning a chop with Heinrich Brussow while the Boks take to the field with two looseheads on the bench in a 23 man squad designed to accommodate a full front row on the bench so we avoid those despicable granny scrums?

But perhaps it is better to be tanning a chop than being in Lourens Adriaanse’s position … Selected as the backup tighthead in the Bok squad for this quadrangular after a really good season for the Cheetahs, he is the one prop out of five who will be holding tackle bags for a month.

So perhaps it is not about whom is selected as backup to Jannie, but more about why they are merely making up the numbers?

I’ll tell you why … Because both the Cheetahs and Bok coaches believe Coenie Oosthuizen to be good enough to play tighthead prop at the highest level. Hence both sets of coaches switching the bullocking loosehead – enjoying some of the greatest form of his life from the left hand side of the scrum – to tighthead for the last 20 minutes of the game.

But it is patently obvious to me that this is a failed experiment. The Cheetahs go from having a dominant scrum to hacking to stay in the game every time the switch is made. And the Boks went from dominating the scrum against Italy to making like a chunk of turf being bulldozed at a building site in the second half. Most people put this down to the Italians bringing on an entire new front row that included tighthead legend Martin Castrogiavanni, but they are wrong … It was because of the continued experiment that sees Oosthuizen move to tighthead prop for the last 20 minutes.

Yes he played tighthead at school, and yes the legend that is Os du Randt is the man behind the move, but does this make it right? As former Bok tighthead and current Saracens scrum technician Cobus Visagie said on Twitter: “Tighthead is not a place to experiment – the team pays the price” … I rest my case.

I can understand the coach wanting to have players like Oosthuizen and Trevor Nyakane on the bench, as they are both excellent with ball in hand and have the ability to make an impact on the game. But not at the expense of a good scrum.

Look, it will make no difference against Scotland on Saturday. They were bullied by Samoa and are hacking without their Lions players. And to make matters worse, props Geoff Cross and Ryan Grant, along with hooker Pat MacArthur, have all been ruled out, while there is uncertainty over the availability of Euan Murray. A club side could probably hold their own against the Scottish scrum …

But is this not then, the perfect opportunity, to give your raw young backup tighthead prop some game time in Green and Gold?

We have loosehead props falling out of our ears (All of JC Janse van Rensberg, Steven Kitshoff and even Dean Greyling could hold their own at the highest level), yet we have only Herbst and Adriaanse as backup to Du Plessis, who is currently being played into the ground. Surely you use the likes of Italy, Scotland and Samoa to give these two some game time and test their mettle in the Bok side? Instead Adriaanse carries tackle bags, and we have no idea if he is the right man for the job.

This while the Oosthuizen experiment continues. Is this fair on the player? Remember the John Smit move to prop and how that tainted his reputation. And more importantly, is this fair on the players who get to play their Bok rugby with a weak link at tighthead?

Against Scotland, Beast and Jannie should have been given the week off, while Coenie, Adriaan Strauss and Adriaanse started, with Nyakane, Bismarck and Herbst on the bench. Then we might have learnt something.

There are five changes in the starting line-up of the Junior Springboks to play against Wales in the IRB Junior World Championship rugby semi-final in Vannes, France, on Tuesday evening.

Amongst the backs, flyhalf Robert du Preez returns to play in the No 10 jersey while Handré Pollard moves to inside centre in place of Rohan Janse van Rensburg. Stefan Ungerer reclaims the No 9 jersey from his Sharks provincial team mate Hanco Venter.

Andrew Beerwinkel will start at loose head prop in place of Sti Sithole while Luan de Bruin is restored to the side after missing the match against France because of suspension. De Bruin’s suspension of four weeks was set aside following a successful appeal. Marné Coetzee, who struggled against the hosts last week, therefore moves to the bench to make way for De Bruin.

Amongst the replacements, flanker Kwagga Smith comes in for the injured Jannes Kirsten while Justin Geduld, who missed the French match because of a slight knee injury, was included amongst the backs after passing a fitness test on Monday.

Junior Springboks coach, Dawie Theron, commented: “This is a very important match for us and we know that Wales is a well-coached side with a good structure and especially a very good kicking game. We have done our homework and believe that we are a well-prepared physical side and we are comfortable with the way we want to play. The team is looking forward to play in this semi-final match.”

Kick-off time is 18:15 and will be televised.

The SA U20 team to play Wales:

15. Cheslin Kolbe (Western Province)

14. Luther Obi (Leopards)

13. Dries Swanepoel (Blue Bulls)

12. Handré Pollard (Blue Bulls)

11. Seabelo Senatla (SARU contracted)

10. Robert du Preez (Sharks)

9.   Stefan Ungerer (Sharks)

8. Ruan Steenkamp (captain, Blue Bulls)

7. Jacques du Plessis (Blue Bulls)

6. Roelof Smit (Blue Bulls)

5. Dennis Visser (Blue Bulls)

4. Irné Herbst (Blue Bulls)

3. Luan de Bruin (Free State)

2. Jacques du Toit (Free State)

1. Andrew Beerwinkel (Blue Bulls)

Bench:

16. Michael Willemse (Western Province)

17. St Sithole (Western Province)

18. Aidon Davis (EP)

19. Kwagga Smith (Lions)

20. Percy Williams (Lions)

21. Justin Geduld (SARU contracted)

22. Jesse Kriel (Blue Bulls)

23. Marné Coetzee (Sharks)

 JWC stats and facts to impress with round the braai:

Seven teams have contested a JWC semi-final: New Zealand, England, South Africa, France, Australia, Wales and Argentina.

Stade de la Rabine in Vannes will become the seventh venue to host a JWC semi-final after Rodney Parade (2008), Cardiff Arms Park (2008), Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium (2009), Estadio El Coloso del Parque (2010), Stadio Comunale di Monigo (2011) and Newlands (2012).

A total of 50 tries have been scored across the 10 JWC semi-finals to date. Thirty-two of these have been turned into seven pointers.

The most tries scored in a semi-final is six, which has happened three times – New Zealand v Australia (2009), England v South Africa (2009) and England v France (2011).

The most penalties kicked in a semi-final is seven in England’s victory over South Africa in 2009, the fewest is two in that year’s other encounter between New Zealand and Australia.

No drop goals have been slotted in a semi-final.