Africa-Press – South-Africa. Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has explained his decision to announce his side for this weekend’s Rugby Championship clash against the Wallabies in Adelaide on Monday.
The Boks under Nienaber have always announced their matchday squads early – generally on a Tuesday before the game – but this week’s Monday announcement was particularly eyebrow-raising.
Saturday’s clash is an early kick-off (07:30, SA time), but the coach simply doesn’t see the point in delaying the announcement if the players and staff already know who is playing.
The obvious concern with that tactic, which was put to Nienaber at his press conference on Monday, is that an early announcement gives the opposition side more time to plan for individuals and combinations.
That is not a concern of Nienaber’s, though.
“That’s probably something you will have to ask our opposition,” he said.
“For us, I feel we’ve got a pretty good idea of the team that will play against us from Australia. You probably wonder about one or two positions, maybe.
“I’m not sure if it benefits them or not, but if we have announced it to our players who is going to play on Saturday, we don’t feel that keeping it under wraps is helpful.
“It’s better for us to announce it and get it out of the way. The players can settle, and we can start training.”
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