Buoyant Boks board the plane
Monday July 05 2004
White holds out hope for Van NiekerkIt was a buoyant group of Springboks who addressed the media on Monday, only hours before boarding a plane for Australasia - where they will face the Pacific Islanders, New Zealand and Australia on successive Saturdays.
Springbok coach Jake White remained confident that he will be able to recall at least one of the four players who fell by the wayside in the past few days, as injuries continued to take its toll.
White was adamant that Western Province flanker Joe van Niekerk will board a plane bound for Australia on Saturday, only hours after he will play for Western Province against the Lions in a Currie Cup match in Johannesburg.
Van Niekerk was withdrawn from the touring squad last Friday, after he aggravated a groin injury during a WP practice - ahead of their first-round match against the Pumas.
But on Monday White again made it clear that he is confident Van Niekerk - or Big Joe, as he is affectionately known - will come through Saturday's Currie Cup game and be declared fit to play a part for the Boks in their Australasian venture.
South Africa face the Pacific Iaslanders in Gosford on July 17, before heading accross the Tasman to face New Zealand in a Tri-Nations match in Christchurch a week later. They finish off with an encounter against the Wallabies in Perth on July 31.
But White hopes to have Van Niekerk back for their opening Tri-Nations match against the All Blacks, which gives him almost three weeks to get ready.
Utility back Werner Greeff, who is struggling to overcome a knee injury, is less likely to board a plane for Australasia soon. He came on as a second-half replacement for Province at the weekend, but afterwards had some trouble with his injured knee again.
He will go for some exploratory surgery on Tuesday, before a final decision is taken, but the signs do not appear to be too good. In fact it appears he may be sidelined for another two weeks.
Two other players - winger Jaque Fourie (hamstring) and loose forward Juan Smith (hamstring) - have both been ruled out.
While Fourie and Smith will defenitely not take part in the away leg of the Tri-Nations, White continued to hold out hope that Van Niekerk will play a part.
"Joe will play for Western Province against the Lions on Saturday and fly out to Sydney straight after the match," the coach told the media.
"Joe needs game-time and it's up to him to decide how much time he needs on the field. He must feel comfortable that he is ready."
The Bok said the latest injury setbacks may have disrupted his preparations to some extent, but he was optimistic that his team was up for the challenge.
"Sure, I would have liked one or two other guys, but injuries are one of those things in rugby and we have to accept them,
"I don't think a coach ever gets his ideal team. But the guys who've come into the squad have really done well for us and that will certainly make selections at a later stage very difficult. I will, however always select my strongest possible XV."
There was some good news on the injury front as well. Lock Bakkies Botha, who was unable to play in the second Test against Ireland and the one-off international against Wales because of an ankle injury, has now fully recovered and he is likely to get some "game time" against the Pacific Islanders.
The Boks coach was not concerned about the physical threat posed by the Pacific Islanders, despite some of the big hits that are still being felt in the Australian camp - after a number of Wallabies limped out of their team's 29-14 win over the Islanders last Saturday.
In fact White said he was looking forward to the match against the Pacific Islanders, a team who has shown they are not scared to mix it with the big guns of world rugby.
He added that South Africans have always been known as a team capable of and willing to play the physical game.
"We've got some big tacklers as well and it'll be interesting to see how physical they really are against us. It's going to be a very tough test."
Bok captain John Smit said the team is eager to continue on their winning ways, because it is "great" to be involved in a team where the spirit is this great.
In fact, according to Smit, his team was targeting the Pacific Islanders clash as if it was an extra Tri-Nations fixture.
"We want to taste success from the first game on tour," he told the media gathering. "A good performance there will pull the team together even more and it's another challenge we're looking forward to," said Smit.