DURBAN, South Africa, 18 August 2004 — Abrasive Springbok flanker AJ Venter returns to the field on Saturday for South Africa’s crunch encounter against Australia, the only change to the team announced by coach Jake White here yesterday.
“It’s AJ’s home ground, and maybe we need to be more destructive at the breakdowns. I think AJ offers us that,” White explained his choice at a press conference in the east coast port city of Durban.
“He’s played in four Currie Cup finals and his experience in handling the pressure of a final will be needed this weekend,” the SAPA news agency quoted the coach.
“What AJ did for us in the Perth Test Match (against Australia) and against the Pacific Islanders is something we need for this fixture,” he said of Venter’s hard-man approach to the game.
Venter, who replaces Gerrie Britz in the number seven jersey, has often landed himself in hot water with authorities, his belated call-up to the Springbok squad for the away leg of Tri-Nations contest the result of a ban for foul play during a Super 12 match.
But the robust Sharks flanker has proved to be formidable when playing with controlled aggression.
The squad meanwhile continued their preparations for Saturday’s clash with two training sessions yesterday.
Former Springbok hooker Shaun Povey and scrumming expert Dougie Heymans have also arrived at the camp to assist coaching staff in preparing the forward.
South Africa’s much vaunted tight-five has in recent matches struggled against both Australia and New Zealand.
Australia are chasing their first Tri-Nations title since 2001. The Springboks have not taken the trophy since 1998, when they beat the Wallabies 29-15 in the final match decider.
The winner at Absa Stadium is virtually assured of the top spot in this year’s three-pronged southern hemisphere contest, while the loser will probably come last.
