THE Springboks and All Blacks have both named their sides for Saturdays massive IRB World Cup clash in Yokohama in Japan.
Who deserve to win the Webb Ellis between the two?
Will any of their players step up and win it for his side?
Bok fullback Willie le Roux is happy to perform when required.
More than that, the Boks also have no specialist flyhalf cover on the bench so if Handre Pollard was to go down injured or find himself in the sin bin for 10 minutes for whatever reason, then coach Rassie Erasmus may instruct Le Roux to take over the flyhalf duties.
Frans Steyn is the other option, but he is starting on the bench.
“Everybody’s got their jobs to do,” Le Roux told media yesterday.
“Sometimes I find myself at first receiver, and then I take over. Me and Handre (Pollard) have a good understanding – sometimes I’m at centre, sometimes I’m out on the wing. Sometimes I don’t know where I find myself, but I try to be everywhere all the time.”
With 56 Test caps to his name, Le Roux was a part of the squad that made it to the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup in England.
He has seen it all, but he is looking to keep things as simple as possible as the Boks get their campaign underway.
“The team that plays in the right areas might have advantages,” he said.
“In the systems of teams, you get X-factor players, and that allows you to do your individual job.
“For instance, Beast (Tendai Mtawarira) likes to run over guys, and I won’t try that … I will try to run around. Everybody’s got their special thing to do within the systems.”
Mtawarira, starting on the bench with Steven Kitshoff getting the nod for the No 1 jersey, is shaping up to play against the All Blacks for the 20th time, but this will mean more than most.
It is the first time ever that two of the game’s great rivals will meet each other in the pool stages of a World Cup, and the general feeling is that there is absolutely nothing between the sides going into the clash.
The result, of course, does not mean the world in the greater scheme of things with both the Springboks and All Blacks expected to qualify for the tournament quarter-finals, regardless of what happens on Saturday.
It might mean the difference between facing Ireland or Scotland in the knockouts, though, but Mtawarira says this is a fixture that the Boks have been eyeing for months.
“We’ve known about this fixture for a hell of a long time,” the 111-Test man affectionately known as “Beast” said.
“We have embraced it, and looked forward to it. One of the big challenges in anyone’s rugby career is to face the All Blacks.
“It is a massive challenge, but we believe in the progress we’ve made in the past couple of months, and how hard we’ve worked. We are excited to go up against them.”
The 34-year-old, who will be playing in his third World Cup, also had a special message for long-time rival owen Franks, who was left out of the All Black squad despite boasting 108 Test caps.
Instead, New Zealand will be backing Nepo Laulala at tighthead with Angus Ta’avao the bench cover.
“Owen has had an illustrious career and played in so many Tests, and I’ve got so much respect for him,” Mtawarira said.
“I kind of feel for him, missing out (on the World Cup). I know how hard he’s worked, but I guess they went with the two in-form tightheads.”
Kick-off on Sarurday is at 11.45 (SA time). – SPORT24
