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Despite initially naming a young and inexperienced squad for the start of this season’s Tri-Nation tournament – in a move that was condemned by both Australia’s and New Zealand’s Rugby Unions – de Villiers has now performed a complete U-turn and will instead plump for more of the individuals that started their final match of the series. That match – which ended in an unexpected 18-5 victory over this year’s World Cup’s hosts – was littered with experience and as such possessed the composure and belief to hold the All Black’s at arm’s length in a game which saw just three points eventually added to the half-time scoreboard.
And so it seems that it will be this approach that de Villiers believes holds the key to success in New Zealand: keeping the ball in the forwards, maintaining good field position and kicking the points when they are on offer. That morale-boosting 18-5 win came courtesy of five kicked penalties and a drop goal from the boot of Morne Steyne, and whether you find that approach particularly easy on the eye, probably represents the South African’s best chance of success against the expansive Pool D counterparts.
Wales, Fiji and Samoa will have no fears over playing with plenty of width in an open and broken sort of game rather than adopting the stick-the-ball-up-your-jumper approach, and that contrast in playing style may be their undoing against the fiercely disciplined Springbok pack. Those looking forward to the Rugby union world cup betting should bear this in mind.
With no uncapped players amongst the squad, de Villiers is clearly happy with how the selection process turned out:
“The squad has a backbone of proven title-winning ability and experience as well as a strong component of new stars – I'm very happy with the squad.”
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