Springbok selectors give James a chance

By WYNNE GRAY in Cape Town

An unrepentant Butch James has been given another chance by the Springbok selectors to redeem himself in the opening Tri-Nations test against the All Blacks.

James sees little wrong with his tackling technique, and yesterday again felt he had been victimised in New Zealand because their Super 12 sides did not fare too well.

"There was a lot of whinging there," he said. "And then the refs started looking for me.

"I would still do normal tackles and get blamed. I think it was all hype. I may have done one or two that were not so good, but they were instinctive."

However, that habitual offending became too much for new Springbok coach Harry Viljoen when James was banned for two weeks after a dangerous tackle on Nicholas Jeanjean in the second test against France last month.

The punishment cost him a place in the test against Italy.

As part of his sentence, James was sent to clean up his style under the tuition of the side's defensive coach, former Kangaroo Les Kiss.

He had several individual sessions to try to eradicate his "no arms" style of tackling.

"There is no place in the game for those sort of things," Viljoen said. "We want to get it right because we cannot afford to play a man down.

"I think it is a mental or impulsive habit he has built up over time. When we first selected him we did not think it was a problem. But we found out it was and have worked hard on it."

James, a confident 22-year-old, appeared less than remorseful yesterday about his controversial style.

"There may be a small thing, but I love tackling, it is a big part of my game."

All week there had been speculation about whether James would return or be replaced by specialist wet-weather goalkicker Braaam van Straaten. But Viljoen made it clear by his work with James that it was never a contest.

The coach also showed he would not bow to any Government interference when he picked Marius Joubert to debut at centre, despite the pleas of Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour that Deon Kayser be used.

Among a sackful of changes from the XV who belted Italy, Percy Montgomery returns to fullback and goalkicking duties, deposed skipper Andre Vos will face another reject captain, Taine Randell, in their retreaded openside flanker jobs, and Cobus Visagie is back at tighthead prop after his ban for steroid use was overturned on appeal.

Hooker Lukas van Biljon fronts up for his second test, with John Smit on the bench after a hip problem.

Joubert is 22, a new face for the All Blacks and another young man with buckets of bravado. "I think I might have an advantage on them because they will not have seen any videos of me and how I play," he said.

He has been in and around Super 12 sides and the national training squad, but long-term shoulder and groin injuries meant he only returned to rugby about two months ago.

"You have to make decisions in life," Viljoen said. "And I think he has the potential to give us the edge in the midfield combination we are looking for."

While Breyton Paulse has been picked on the right wing where he should mark Jonah Lomu, there is a suspicion the bigger Dean Hall will swap wings in defence to help mark the All Black dangerman.

The Springboks have been powering up their traditional scrum and lineout strengths this week.

Visagie said he was privileged to return to the side where he will anchor the scrum in another confrontation against the All Blacks.

"I think our scrum is going well, I think we are ready," he said.

Cape Town is being hit by high winds and rain, which is expected to continue over the weekend.

THE TEAMS

All Blacks: Jeff Wilson, Doug Howlett, Tana Umaga, Jonah Lomu, Pita Alatini, Tony Brown, Justin Marshall, Ron Cribb, Taine Randell, Troy Flavell, Norm Maxwell, Reuben Thorne, Greg Somerville, Anton Oliver (capt), Carl Hoeft. Reserves: Byron Kelleher, Andrew Mehrtens, Leon MacDonald, Marty Holah, Chris Jack, Carl Hayman, Mark Hammett.

Springboks: Percy Montgomery, Breyton Paulse, Marius Joubert, Robbie Fleck, Dean Hall, Butch James, Joost van der Westhuizen, Bob Skinstad (capt), Andre Venter, Andre Vos, Mark Andrews, Victor Matfield, Cobus Visagie, Lukas van Biljon, Robbie Kempson. Reserves: Conrad Jantjes, Deon Kayser, Neil de Kock, Joe van Niekerk, Johan Ackermann, John Smit, Ollie le Roux.