Tried and tested for Boks

Kevin McCallum

THE selection of a World Cup squad should be a simple thing. According to Eddie Butler, the former Wales and British Lions No 8, it’s basic mathematics.

“There is a simple sum here: XV x 2 = 30. There, pick two teams and fly. But I think it is taken as an obligation that you double up on the specialists: hooker and scrumhalf,” wrote Butler in The Observer newspaper this weekend.

Yet it is never that simple. It cannot be, taking into account form, history, injury, talent, experience and pure gut instinct. As his predecessor had before him, so, too, has Peter de Villiers had four years to weigh up his options for the World Cup and when he announces his team tonight he will stick with what he knows and trusts.

Now is not the time for experimentation, wings and prayers. Now is the time to put faith in the tried and trusted, even if there are suspicions that some of that trust is being tried by some players. The debate over John Smit and Bismarck du Plessis will rage on until the first game and possibly beyond.

When Clive Woodward won the World Cup in 2003 his squad of 30 had a 16-14 split between forwards and backs.

Jake White’s victorious squad of 2007 similarly had a 16-14 split, and De Villiers is expected to take at least 16 of the 30 who won in France to New Zealand, and to go with a 16-14 split, resisting the temptation to opt for more brawn up front – as Martin Johnson did when he announced his England team last night with 17 forwards and 13 backs.

The 16-14 split has been the most popular for the contenders with New Zealand, Wales, Ireland and the Wallabies all going for that balance.

The good news for De Villiers is that both Patrick Lambie and Frans Steyn, who picked up knocks in the Tri Nations, were cleared for selection yesterday. Team doctor Craig Roberts performed a set of tests on Lambie and said that while the AC joint in his left shoulder had been sprained and needed rehabilitation, it was expected to be repaired by the time the World Cup started.

Steyn’s hamstring was also being worked on, but he has been cleared for selection.

In terms of the team’s dynamic this is vital for the Boks. Woodward’s selection in 2003 centred around key positions in the team.

“To win a World Cup,” Woodward told the BBC this week, “you need great players at scrumhalf and outside half. But you also need quality specialists at No 7 and No 12.”

It’s all about having the depth to last the tournament and deal with any potential disasters. In 2007, Jean de Villiers saw his World Cup ended when he tore his bicep against Samoa. Frans Steyn was handed the No 12 jersey and performed admirably.

On Saturday De Villiers was the fulcrum of the Springbok defensive effort against the All Blacks, when they played better with the ball than without it.

He and Jaque Fourie, who was similarly outstanding, will start as the first-choice centre pairing.

Lambie and Steyn will provide back-up for De Villiers at 12, while competing for the 15 jersey. When Lambie was injured on Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, JP Pietersen filled in for him and did an outstanding job.

In one sense Woodward was wrong. Utility players as well as specialists win you World Cups.

There will be heartbreak for some who were included in the initial squad. Bjorn Basson, BJ Botha, Ryan Kankowski, Francois Louw, Coenie Oosthuizen, Deon Stegmann and Adriaan Strauss were all in the reckoning, but it is not to be.

De Villiers knows not everyone will agree with his squad. Yesterday he said on radio that people in Cape Town and Pretoria would pick two very different teams. He is hoping that his squad is one of workers.

They may not play pretty rugby, they may have to defend like mad, as they did on Saturday against the All Blacks, but he will take heart from what Martin Johnson said last night: “You would rather win ugly than lose pretty every day of the week. When you get into World Cup games it is all about winning. Sometimes people lose sight of that.”

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TV: World Cup squad announcement live on SS1 at 7.30pm