iafrica.com columnist BJ Botha previews the first Test between the Springboks and the British and Irish Lions in Durban. Find out who he is backing to take an early lead in the series!

Well, the first Test in Durban is going to be an absolutely massive occasion for both teams! The build-up is going to be huge, the teams will be biting at the bit to get at each other and I am really excited for the game to finally get underway.

Obviously a lot of focus has been on the Springbok team with Heinrich Brussouw, in for Schalk Burger, and Frans Steyn starting at fullback having been the major talking point, but with the injury problems we always knew they were going to have to go with the next player to step up. Personally I think we have enough depth to cover the losses and we will see that on Saturday.

The inclusion of a specialist open side for Schalk is a good one, and even though we will miss Schalks presence he has on the field, I think Brussouw will still make it extremely difficult for them at the breakdown.

In the Spears game on Tuesday, flanker Mpho Mbiyozo provided an unbelievable display of openside play against the Lions, and the tourists definitely struggled there. The Lions lost a lot of ball at the breakdown, and what they did manage to get out came very slowly. It was obvious that they did not know what to do at that point and that is an area the Springbok can attack the Lions on Saturday.

Up north the breakdown is not given as much focus as down south, and it is a strength of our game, so without Schalk we need to make sure we have a specialist at the breakdown to take the fight to the Lions — the inclusion of Brussouw in the starting line-up ensures that we can do that…

It’s also great to see Frans starting at fullback on Saturday where he initially made his debut for the Boks and I actually see him as a regular at the back for the Boks. He has a big boot on him, and his positional play is solid as well. The latter will only improve with time and the more he plays there the better — Frans will also see this as an opportunity to make the position his own.

Other than that the side is very settled and that will only make it easier for both Frans and Heinrich coming into the team.

Test will be decided up front

The Lions have a potential weakness in the back three where they lack the experience of playing together, but our back three also need to be aware of the cross-kick that will undoubtedly be used frequently by the Lions. The tourists have tall wingers in Tommy Bowe, Ugo Monye and the speed of Williams— who are likely to start in Durban — and they will go out to exploit that.

At the end of the day, however, the Lions will be coming out to take us on up front. Paul O’Connell and the rest of the pack will look to lay the platform, get their set phases going and build from there. The Lions have shown throughout the tour that once they dominate up front, they start to look dangerous.

I believe they will look to build an innings, turn our forwards around with kicks into the corners, look for drop-goal oppotunities, and keep us out of their 22 as much as possible. They know that if the Springboks get into their 22 they will be difficult to keep out, and the Lions will not want to take any chances.

For me the scrums are a lottery at the moment with the referee having far too much of a say. During the Spears-Lions game the ref gave a penalty try off a scrum that was 10 metres out from the line! Bryce Lawrence, who will handle the Durban Test, will probably be out to display his dominance at the scrum and will be blowing a lot of free-kicks and penalties. Personally, I think they should stay out of it and just let the players get on with it, but I doubt we will see that happening.

Because of this, however, the lineouts will become a big focus on Saturday. We all know that the lineout is one of our major strengths, while the Lions also have a strong line-up. The drive will also be a big part of play with the tourists looking to drive off the lineout and and setting up “mini mauls” off rucks to suck our forwards in.

A must-win in Durban

I have said before that this Test will be the biggest of the series. The Lions will have altitude on their minds (with the next two Tests on the Highveld) and will come out firing in Durban on Saturday, desperate to put the Boks on the back-foot early in the series.

Coach Ian McGeechan will remember from 1997 how the media turned on the Boks when they lost the first Test, and he will be keen to see the same happen this time around. The wily Scot knows that a win will turn the focus away from his own team and firmly onto the Boks, so a win in Durban is essential — for both teams.

BJ’s prediction: It will be a massive occasion on Sat and there will be a lot of nerves about so I don’t think we will see a lot of running rugby during the game, however you never know with our unpredictable backs which makes them dangerous .Despite a poor test record in Durban though, the Springboks will win by +- 7.


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