News

De Villiers brands All Blacks as cheats

August 11 2008

The mind games have already begun ahead of Saturday's vital Tri-Nations clash at Newlands between South Africa and New Zealand, with Springbok coach Peter de Villiers branding the All Blacks cheats at the set-piece.

De Villiers, who knows his side must win to maintain their tournament hopes, called on referee Matt Goddard to boss the game as well as ruling the set-piece as strictly as possible.

The Springbok coach claims the IRB prevented him from talking directly with Goddard, but he told Sondag that if Goddard fails to control the scrums and line-outs then Saturday's game could become a farce.

"It is obvious that as world champions, our biggest strengths are in the line-out and in the scrum," De Villiers said in Sondag.

"And it is precisely here where the opposition will try and neutralize us. The All Blacks use tactics which are illegal and as far as I know if it is illegal, then it is not allowed."

De Villiers claims there are three specific infringements that the All Blacks are guilty of at the line-out.

"We have picked up three things that they do which are illegal in the line-outs," he said.

"It starts with their flanker coming through the line-out illegally to stop any ball thrown down to the half-back. They also do their best to play the line-out jumpers in the air and jump across the line, and then thirdly they manage to close the gap to a half a metre between the two sets of players.

"All I know is that if there is a rule, and if it applies to one team, it applies to both teams. The referee has to blow according to the rules and not according to his interpretation, it's that simple."

Having arrived in Cape Town on Saturday the All Blacks had a light training session on the same day and are expected to name their starting XV on Tuesday.

South Africa will receive medical updates on Monday concerning the fitness of second row Bakkies Botha, centre Jaque Fourie and full-back Conrad Jantjes, all of whom picked up injuries in the 63-9 victory over South Africa on Saturday.

With those injury clouds hanging over the Springbok camp there was speculation that Francois Steyn and Ruan Pienaar - both dropped for the Pumas Test - would be recalled. However De Villiers said the pair need to specialise if they are to prolong their Test careers.

De Villiers, who was criticised for releasing the pair to Currie Cup duty last weekend, said it was one of the toughest decisions he had made as a coach.

"If I looked at reserve half-back, and I have to choose between Ruan Pienaar and Fourie du Preez, and I sent Fourie back, I would have to have my head read," De Villiers explained.

"The same goes in a decision between Jaque Fourie and Frans Steyn. I told Ruan and Frans, it is great to have you here, but if Fourie or Jaque are back, then you are at the back of the queue again.

"I told them, you can go back and decide where you want to play. But with every decision there is a responsibility and that responsibility is that if you choose to play fly-half, you must know there are players ahead of you. The same goes for half-back, there you must know Bolla (Conradie), Fourie and Ricky (Januarie) are all ahead of you.

"Ruan is a very good player, but as a half-back, I have to ask if he does all the basic things that a half-back has to do. This is what I look for and I have to be honest about these things. If Ruan and Frans were playing badly, then it would be easier, but they aren't playing badly.

"The coach is possibly wrong, but I have to choose and stick by my decision. Both are great players but there are players here who have a little bit extra because they are specialists."