Former Springbok No8 turned coach Duane Vermeulen says we will only know on Sunday whether the Scotland team has improved on what they presented in the opening game of last year’s Rugby World Cup but he appeared to think that it is a distinct possibility.
To refresh memories, there was a lot of focus from the Boks on Scotland being a real threat when they went into the World Cup in France. Not only was the match in Marseille the opening game for the reigning champions, it was also against a team that together with Ireland earned the Pool they were in the status of being the “Pool of Death”.
The team that lost was always going to be on the back foot in the quest to qualify, and we know from watching Chasing the Sun 2, the docuseries on the second successive Bok RWC triumph, that they were very nervous going into the game.
There was so much to lose, and the nerves showed as the Boks ground out an 18-3 victory in which Manie Libbok shone as a game-breaker.
That game though, as Vermeulen reminded us in a brief internet link up from Edinburgh on Tuesday afternoon, was played at a neutral venue. Sunday’s game is at the Scotland home ground of Edinburgh, a venue where they’ve beaten the likes of England several times in recent years (four in a row in fact).
“Only Sunday will tell (whether they are an improved team), but they are definitely going to be up for it,” said Vermeulen, who works with the Bok mobi-unit but is helping out with the coaching on this tour.
“It’s a home match for them, in front of their people and not in a neutral stadium. You want to be up for it when you play at home, you’ve got that pride within you.” Although he didn’t want to concede that the Scots had improved since last September, and a RWC where they failed to get out of their Pool because they followed up the loss to the eventual winners by also losing to Ireland, Vermeulen made it clear that there have been changes to the Scotland approach since then.
GLASGOW WARRIORS ELEMENT
And then there’s also the not insignificant point of the confidence that would have been gained by Glasgow Warriors’ decent recent record in South Africa.
“There’s a few guys who have been brought into their squad who have been playing well at franchise level. If you look back at last season’s champions (in the Vodacom URC], it’s Glasgow. They are definitely doing something right, here in Scotland. So we need to be wary of what we are going to get on Sunday.”
When it was put to him that the Boks had changed their approach since the World Cup with the arrival of some foreign input in the coaching personnel, Vermeulen suggested that the same has been true of the Scots.
“Maybe in a sense we have changed, but Scotland have also changed quite a bit. We have different coaches Tony (Brown) and Jerry (Flannery) bringing a different flavour to our game and adding new attributes to our strengths. It is not always the same picture presented that you would have been used from previous seasons.
“We are going through a period of transition, but the same is the case with the Scotland team. They have always tended to run the ball, and I am not saying they are not doing that, but their tactical game has become a bigger focus for them.”
In other words, the Scots are a smarter team than they were the last time they met the Boks with more ability, probably borne out through the progress made by Edinburgh in aspects of forward play and game management, to mix up their game more.
BOKS READY
Fortunately the Boks appear forewarned and, after their week in Jersey preparing for this tour, also fore-armed.
“It was fantastic to be in Jersey. None of us had been there before so it was something new and a new place to train,” said Vermeulen.
“There are just over 100 000 people living there, but the welcome was huge, and there were lots of South Africans. There were great training facilities and I think we learned a lot. They were also really good conditions to train for a tour in the conditions we can expect at this time of year here. It was a very good training week and also very necessary.”