SOUTH AFRICA HEAD coach Jacques Nienaber said they are comfortable with the risk involved in having only one recognised back on their bench for this weekend’s World Cup clash against Ireland.
The Springboks have opted for seven forwards and one back on the bench for Saturday’s huge Pool B game, with scrum-half Cobus Reinach the only back among their replacements.
This brings an obvious risk if there are injuries in the South African backline, but Nienaber said it’s one they’re happy to take.
“Obviously people look at it and say it’s a risk but for us, it’s a calculated risk,” said Nienaber.
“There are guys on that bench who cover various positions, but that is not something I’d like to go into too much because it is probably more tactical. I don’t want to talk too much about tactics.
“We have a lot of versatility in the squad and we showed that on the weekend by playing four nines [scrum-halves]. But we are comfortable with the risk we are taking.”
The Springboks first used the 7/1 split against New Zealand in their final warm-up game last month when it was hugely effective as they smashed the Kiwis.
Nienaber said that success was encouraging, but that this selection was also about Ireland’s qualities.
“It worked well in that specific game,” said Nienaber. “The bench had a big impact, not only in that game but also on the weekend [against Romania].
“We analysed Ireland and after looking at them and what they bring and what we think we will need in this specific game from a tactical point of view and trying to counter everything they do – that’s the reason we went with seven-one.
“I don’t think necessarily Ireland and New Zealand are similar in how they do things. It’s for this specific game.
“The ‘bomb squad’ that came on against Scotland also had a big impact. That’s what we want.
“I don’t call them finishers or stuff like that. The guys that start and guys who come off the bench have a role to fulfil. That’s why when we talk about our front-rowers, we don’t talk about first choice or second choice. It doesn’t necessarily work like that in our team.
“The guys who start have a specific role to perform and the moment we see that being achieved, we bring the other guys off the bench.”
Nienaber was full of praise for Andy Farrell’s Ireland.
“They are the number-one team in the world, they are a quality outfit,” said the former Munster assistant coach.
“We don’t think there are a lot of weaknesses in their game and, as they’ve mentioned, this is probably one of the games you want to play in – the number one in the world playing the world champions.
“If you look at Ireland’s team and their consistency of performance, there has not been a lot of weakness over the past few months. We expect a proper test match of the calibre of the number one and two teams playing against each other.”
Nienaber underlined that the pressure on both sides is high.
The winners of this weekend’s clash will be strong favourites to top Pool B, while the loser will have to bounce back in their final group game.
Nienaber said he’s excited about the match-up.
“If you look at their squad versus our squad, you’re probably going to find that they have a very experienced squad, probably between 29 or 30 years of age,” said Nienaber. “We’re probably between 29 and 30 years of age.
“If you look at the amount of test cap experience we have on average per player, it will probably be between 40 and 45. If they select the guys that we think they’re going to select, it will also be around about 40 or 45.
“It’s going to be a clash of two teams that have good experience and good, cool, calm heads. They will be similar in the amount of guys that are over 30, so I think it’s two squads that will be very well-matched on the day.
“That’s the exciting part, to see if our plans will work against them. Will we be able to handle the pressure they put us under? There will be ebbs and flows in the game. Will they be able to handle the pressure that’s on them? Because at the end of the day, this is an important game for both teams.
“It’s only the third game of the pool, but if Ireland slip up in this game, their Scotland game becomes massive. We slip against them in this game, our Tonga game becomes massive.
“So there will be pressure in this game. It’s exciting to see how the players will handle it.”
