Springboks focus on scoring tries against All Blacks

By STEPHEN NELL

Andre Snyman could be a surprise inclusion in the Springbok midfield as coach Harry Viljoen sets his sights on a four-try haul in Saturday's Tri-Nations clash against the All Blacks at Eden Park.

The South Africans landed in Auckland shortly after midnight last night in a confident yet disappointed frame of mind after their 14-14 draw against Australia in Perth.

Star centre Robbie Fleck is on crutches after injuring his right ankle at Subiaco Oval and is unlikely to play any part this weekend.

Unless Fleck makes an astonishing recovery, South Africa will be short of attacking options in their backline.

It is a significant blow given that, to give themselves the best possible chance of victory, they must win with a bonus point and also get their points differential above that of Australia.

They would then hope for a favourable result in the Tri-Nations finale between the Wallabies and All Blacks at Stadium Australia in Sydney on September 1.

"We can still win the TriNations, but we must get a bonus point (with a victory)," said Viljoen.

That is a tough task, given that the Springboks will have to double their try-tally so far in the competition to achieve that - and do so, furthermore, against one of the best defensive teams in the world.

Another factor could be the weather. It was foul on arrival in Auckland and it remains to be seen what conditions will be like on match day.

South Africa have scored only two tries in their three Tri-Nations matches to date while conceding one. It is an impressive defensive record, but Viljoen said it was now vital that they improve their attack.

"We're starting to get it right on defence, but not on attack," he said. "We must not become a defensive team. We must become an attacking side."

Yet defence is currently dominating attack in rugby and the Springboks' stated goal will not easily materialise.

"Rugby is going to become very specialised and if you don't take on the challenge of beating those defensive walls you're not going to make it," Viljoen said.

"I think defence at this stage is ahead of attack, but attack will get there. We must make lifting our attack our challenge.

"We have to be a lot more efficient with the ball in hand and getting our forwards more aggressively into play. The cohesion between forwards and backs is where we are lacking. We're not testing the opposing defence enough. We're not keeping the ball and lack the patience. We need to build those skills."

Viljoen, however, was delighted at the Springboks' showing in the lineouts, where they did not concede one of their own throws and poached five of Australia's, thanks largely to excellent work by Victor Matfield.

Collapsing scrums were a concern early on, but South Africa recovered to edge the Wallabies on that front.

"It's good that we are dominating the line-outs, but that wasn't the case with the scrummaging. We have to improve our scrum management and be more effective," said Viljoen.

Cobus Visagie injured his wrist in one of the collapsed scrums, but X-rays did not reveal any breaks. His wrist was still swollen yesterday but he should be fit for Saturday.

The only change is expected at centre, where Viljoen has to choose between Snyman and Deon Kayser.

The latter was impressive on defence after replacing Fleck on Saturday, but Viljoen is known to prefer Snyman, who last played a test for South Africa when he broke his ankle in a 34-18 defeat against the All Blacks at Pretoria in 1999.

It does, however, leave Viljoen with a political hot potato, given that he is under transformation pressures in spite of Conrad Jantjes's rise to prominence.

Kayser has seldom disappointed in a Springbok jersey, but there are concerns about his defence against Tana Umaga.

While Snyman does offer physical presence, he has not yet come close to his attacking form of 1997 and 1998 since his lengthy injury lay-off, which further complicates the issue.

Whichever way he decides, the enforced change will mean that Viljoen's centre pairing is again disrupted, a factor that strongly militates against any try-scoring spree.

Butch James is likely to be retained at first five-eighths despite being the recipient of a yellow card against Australia. Although far from flawless, his game has improved markedly and the Boks appear more and more likely to reap long-term rewards by keeping faith.

"We're confident we can do it. As I've said before, New Zealand have the best individuals in the world. If they can put their game together they will be awesome. We must not allow them to do that. We must be better on attack, then we can win the game," Viljoen said.

The All Blacks reassembled this morning in Takapuna, on Auckland's North Shore, and will train at the Onewa Domain this afternoon.

The All Black selectors will name their team for Saturday's test on Wednesday morning.

- INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS (SOUTH AFRICA)