No panic, says coach White at five changes

Jake White

WELLINGTON - No alarm just part of the masterplan, Springbok coach Jake White claimed as he revealed his retooled side to play the All Blacks on Saturday.

His explanation drew immediate thoughts of a liquor ad and its catchphrase: "Yeah right".

Five changes with all but one in the nerve centre of the loose forwards and halves after the 49-0 shellacking from the Wallabies suggested frustration or a grasping search for a solution. It did not add up to the rotation policy White implied.

He does not have the available player riches of his All Black opponents to adopt that scheme and he will face massive scrutiny if his side falls for the third straight test in Wellington.

White put out his best choice in Brisbane. He hoped to accrue some valuable offshore Tri-Nations points in Brisbane then Wellington before his side had a fortnight rest for their next test in Sydney.

The coach miscued his selections in Brisbane and now he may be playing a greater game, one intended to deal with the heat which will follow from his employers and critics.

"This is not a case of hitting the panic button. Our objective was always to expose players at this level on this trip," White said yesterday.

"You have to give these players an opportunity to see whether they sink or swim."

Those observations had a hollow look about them. Especially after the cover-ups about the bounty on George Smith's dreadlocks, the smokescreen about their disciplinary record and then complaints that referee Paul Honiss cost them the Brisbane test.

It is difficult to believe there would have been such widespread changes if the Springboks had come close or beaten the Wallabies. The official word then would have been all about pushing on with the progress.

Instead Albert van den Berg is the only enforced change for the injured Danie Rossouw at lock while Solly Tyibilika and Jacques Cronje come into the loose trio for Joe van Niekerk and Pierre Spies.

Tyibilika is a specialist opensider who is being tried instead of the utility van Niekerk as the Boks try to find someone to replace the injured Schalk Burger.

Fourie du Preez has replaced Enrico Januarie at halfback and either Meyer Bosman or Butch James, who arrived in Wellington on Tuesday, will play at five-eighths instead of the underperforming Jaco van der Westhuyzen.

The Springboks will wait until test day to decide on their five-eighths.

"A lot will depend on how Butch fits in. And we will also see how the weather conditions are," said White.

The backline, White agreed, had not made progress under the control of van der Westhuizen and it was time for a change.

It was also time for the squad to stand up. They had never faced adversity like this week and White said this was the test of their character.

He embraced the concept from his coaching adversary Graham Henry that Brisbane had been an aberration.

"It happens in games. I don't believe you need to judge us on one fixture. It was a poor performance and it happens. Tiger Woods never made the US Open golf cut this year and he's the No 1 golfer in the world," said White.

"It's something we never envisaged. We came here expecting to do well. We knew it would be difficult. Now we have 80 minutes of rugby on Saturday and 80 minutes changes a lot of things.

"As I said to the players, it's been easy when we have been winning. But you judge real people when you are going down as well.

"It's easy to stand in a circle when you have won and say everything is great. But you have to look at each other when you are going through the bad times."

* Westpac Stadium, 7.35pm Saturday

All Blacks

Leon MacDonald
Doug Howlett
Mils Muliaina
Sam Tuitupou
Scott Hamilton
Daniel Carter
Piri Weepu
Rodney So'oialo
Richie McCaw (c)
Reuben Thorne
Ali Williams
Chris Jack
Carl Hayman
Anton Oliver
Neemia Tialata

South Africa

P. Montgomery
Akona Ndungane
Jaque Fourie
Wynand Olivier
Bryan Habana
Bosman/James
Fourie du Preez
Jacques Cronje
Juan Smith
Solly Tyibilika
Victor Matfield
A. van den Berg
CJ van der Linde
John Smit (c)
Os du Randt

All Blacks: Isaia Toeava, Luke McAlister, Jimmy Cowan, Chris Masoe, Greg Rawlinson, Greg Somerville, Andrew Hore.

South Africa: Breyton Paulse/JP Pietersen, Bosman/James, Ricky Januarie, Joe van Niekerk, Johann Muller, Eddie Andrews, Danie Coetzee.