The Boks start their tour against the British Barbarians at Wembley in London on 5 November and then play England on the other side of London, Twickenham, a week later. Normally Barbarians games are all about entertainment, with a big accent on running the ball and less on the result, but after the Boks’ nightmare performance against the All Blacks last time out it is understandable that he wants to rebuild some confidence.
“Just because it is not a test match against the Barbarians, that does not mean we are going there just to entertain,” said Coetzee at a media briefing at the weekend.
“Firstly, it is a match that will set the tone for the rest of the tour. So we need to start well and play well. The Barbarians go out there to play entertaining rugby, but we want to win and set the tone for the test matches that come after it. We can’t play one way one week and a different way the next week.”
There will be people who will find that attitude frustrating, for the young mix of exciting players in the 30-man squad for the Barbarians leg of the trip does have the ability to play an enterprising brand of rugby. Several of the players were involved in the play-off phase of the Currie Cup, where it was quite emphatically underlined that conservative rugby is not necessarily in the South African DNA.
However, Coetzee is right in taking his line that the match should be a preparation for the following week. Most Barbarians games are organised for the end of the tour, which would make far more sense as then it does enable a touring team to throw caution to the wind and end the trip by just having fun. It wouldn’t make sense to play Barbarians rugby on week one if that is not your intention when you play the world’s No 2 team in their Twickenham fortress in week two.
What the Barbarians game has done though has presented Coetzee with an ideal opportunity to spread the net, and he has done that, with most of the young players knocking on the door for full recognition being included.
“I am excited about seeing the new players perform against the Barbarians and I am hoping they will deliver a performance that will make me feel sorry when they have to return home,” said Coetzee.
Of course four of the newcomers won’t be going home straight after the Barbarians game. Francois Venter, Sergeal Petersen and Roelof Smit have all been rewarded for their excellent Currie Cup form by being selected to the test match squad, where they will be joined by the exciting young Sharks player Jean-Luc du Preez.
The selection of the latter could be a sign that Coetzee is thinking hard about the pecking order at blindside flank. Although Oupa Mohoje has done well there, there is still a theory that the Boks need a big basher who can take them across the gain-line with regularity in that position. Veteran Willem Alberts is also in the test match squad, but he is coming to the end of his career.
Although the Barbarians game will be a build-up for the following week, which will probably mean one of Rudy Paige or Faf de Klerk partner Pat Lambie at halfback and the regular second row trio of Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit play roles, it would nonetheless be good to see the likes of flyhalf Tian Schoeman and lock RG Snyman get playing opportunities.
Jamba Ulengo is a really exciting wing, as is Sergeal Petersen, and the second named could just edge his way into the test starting team if he reproduces at Wembley what he has managed to do for the Cheetahs over the past couple of weeks.
