De Villiers backs his selections
Trying his arm: Peter de Villiers believes his team can win on the moon
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers raised a few eyebrows when he named his first Tri-Nations team on Thursday, but came out in defence of his selections for what is set to be a wet and windy Test in Wellington against the All Blacks.
Much has been made of the role that the weather will play at Westpac Stadium with forecasts predicting freezing cold and wet conditions. Ever the joker, De Villiers said his team were capable of winning wherever they play - even without the aid of Earth's gravity.
"I have such a wonderful bunch of guys to choose from and there is pressure on all of them to perform. But even if you're playing a game on the moon, if you have the skills and you play well, you will win," said De Villiers.
But the Springboks will need more than just a few lucky stars to beat the All Blacks on home turf for the first time in ten years and some would argue that De Villiers has gambled with a few contentious selections.
Most notable are the selections of Adrian Jacobs at outside centre and Joe van Niekerk's return at number eight.
Weighing 87kg, Jacobs will have his work cut out for him in midfield where he will have to contend with one of the most powerful runners in world rugby, Ma'a Nonu, who outweighs his South African opponent by 17kg. But De Villiers backed the 27-year-old to prove his defensive capabilities.
"If you look at the Sharks' last three Super 14 matches, Adrian made the most telling tackles out of everyone. It's a myth that if you are small and from South Africa, then you can't tackle. We will see that on the field on Saturday," De Villiers said in support of the player he coached at the Falcons years ago.
Van Niekerk, who has returned to the Springbok fold to add to his 47 caps after being overlooked during the Jake White era, has been chosen ahead of explosive number eights Pierre Spies and Ryan Kankowski. De Villiers mentioned Van Niekerk's decision-making abilities as one of the reasons for his inclusion.
"Joe had a brilliant Super 14 and he showed he means business. He then had one chance against Italy and he took it with both hands, he showed he wants to play for the Springboks again," said De Villiers of Van Niekerk who will play the traditional linking role of a number eight.
"Joe captained the SA U19 and U21 sides and the Lions, so he can make a great contribution in terms of the spine of the side, he has a great deal of decision-making ability."
Spies and Kankowski, who, it could be argued, are better suited to dry weather and hard fields, have been left out of the matchday 22 entirely in favour of Luke Watson, who will provide cover for the loose forwards on the bench.
"We have lots of ball-carriers but not enough guys who play the ball on the ground. Luke played well at eighthman for the Stormers and never let us down at number six, so I'm repaying him with a spot, it's a just reward," said the coach.
Odwa Ndungane will win only his second Springbok cap on his Tri-Nations debut, as he starts on the wing ahead of the low-on-confidence JP Pietersen, while speedster Tonderai Chavhanga has been left in South Africa.
Ndungane will be leaning on the experience of star wing Bryan Habana, who gave the Sharks number fourteen a vote of confidence.
"Odwa had an exceptional Super 14 and I'm really excited about linking up with him. He is up there with the best," said Habana.