Fleck is out of French test
Marseilles - Robbie Fleck is out of Saturday's rugby Test against France.
The Springbok centre injured a hamstring during training on Wednesday night and withdrew on Friday. He will be replaced by AD Jacobs.
Marius Joubert, dropped from the last test team, takes up Jacobs' place on the bench.
Fleck's injury will be assessed again on Sunday when a decision will be made whether he continues on tour.
Fleck missed the start of the season because of an injury from last year, but showed impressive form in recent games for Western Province.
The new Springbok centre pairing of Jacobs and De Villiers brings a strong element of unpredictability to the backline.
It is odd that the Boks will rely on their unpredictability, an element that used to be the preserve of French teams.
One part of the game-plan where Springbok coach Rudolf Straeuli is not pinning hopes on the untested is in the scrum. This is the cornerstone of the Bok game and Straeuli has left nothing to chance against one of the most forceful packs in world rugby.
The Boks cannot afford to be found wanting in the basics if they hope to overcome the French.
Before the Springboks can consider unleashing the unexpected they have to assert themselves up front.
The Springboks were humbled by France at Ellis Park last year and it was the then rookie loosehead Jean-Jacques Crenca who helped crush the Bok pack. On Saturday Crenca will be in the front line with the experienced Raphael Ibanez and Pieter de Villiers. Support in the back row will come from two strong scrummaging locks, Olivier Brouzet and Fabian Pelous.
It is a mean tight five who prefer the trench warfare to sophisticated long range combat.
However it would not be French if there was not a touch of class. Serge Betsen, Olivier Magne and Imanol Harinordoquy are arguably the most gifted loose-forward combination on the international scene and they complete a well-tuned French pack. You could throw any backline selection behind such a set of forwards.
Springbok tighthead prop Willie Meyer said his team had paid much attention to the scrums in practice.
It was in the first session in France that Blue Bulls lock Bakkies Botha scrummed his way into the starting team.
"On Monday we went out and had a good scrumming session. In Pretoria we also had a good session in the wet and I think the number of sessions we've had up to now has been good," Meyer said.
"It was tough but also within reason. We didn't go over the top by any stretch of the imagination," Meyer said.
He agreed that France had one of the more forceful units in the set phases.
"They are a good scrumming pack. They are solid. It's difficult to rank them because so many variables come into play. Some teams may go into the match not having paid too much attention to the scrums while their opponents, which may have a weaker pack, did. Sometimes everything clicks. The timing's there and the guys are working together. They are definitely in the top three.
"I don't think we will change a lot from what we have been doing. The only time it could change is if we get a wet field because then you have to adjust the way you plant your feet. The intensity of our hits is going to be very important," Meyer said.
When it comes to homework the Springboks have been equally diligent. "We've also looked at videos - do they scrum on our ball or do they prefer not to contest?" Meyer said.
Of particular interest was France's Six Nations victory over England earlier this year.
"That is exactly the type of video we looked at," said Meyer.
Teams:
France: Nicolas Brusque, Vincent Clerc, Thomas Castaignede, Damien Traille, Cedric Heymans, Francois Gelez, Fabien Galthie (capt), Imanol Harinordoquy, Olivier Magne, Serge Betsen, Fabien Pelous, Olivier Brouzet, Pieter de Villiers, Raphael Ibanez, Jean-Jacques Crenca. Bench: Sylvain Marconnet, Jean-Baptiste Rue, Thibault Privat, Sebastien Chabal, Dmitri Yachvili, Gerald Merceron, Xavier Garbajosa
South Africa: Werner Greeff, Breyton Paulse, Adrian Jacobs, Jean de Villiers, Brent Russell, Andre Pretorius, Neil de Kock, Joe van Niekerk, AJ Venter, Corne Krige (capt), Bakkies Botha, Jannes Labuschagne, Willie Meyer, James Dalton, Lawrence Sephaka. Bench: Marius Joubert, Butch James, Bolla Conradie, Pedrie Wannenburg, Marco Wentzel, Wessel Roux, Lukas van Biljon
Referee: Alain Rolland.