Meyer brewing strong Bok formula

Bok coach Heyneke Meyer believes that continuity and winning momentum will be the key to taking his team to the top of the game in the future.

The changes that Meyer made to his starting XV for the third Test against England in Port Elizabeth this weekend were all injury-enforced, which backs up his belief that the best way to build for the long-term future is to attain success in the short-term.

The fact that the series against England has already been won may tempt some to 'explore different options' and 'give promising players valuable experience' as Peter de Villiers did in the third Test against the British and Irish Lions in 2009, but in Meyer's opinion such a move would probably do more harm than good to the team's development.

The Bok coach explained that apart from the need to dominate every Test match, he feels that it would be counterproductive to disrupt the team and devalue the jersey by picking a side which is not the strongest available combination.

He said: "I believe we need to move away from the mindset that guys need to rest from playing for their country, there are only 12 Test matches in the year so the best team must play.

"Every single Test match there are injuries now, and all the guys that got chances it was not because I gave them a chance, it was because of injury and they have had to step up.

"Obviously in the future there will be a couple of players that you want to see what they can do at Test match level and you can probably use some guys off the bench, but I will never just pick guys to give them the experience.

"For me the jersey is sacred, it is a huge thing playing for your country," he added.

Meyer has been pleased with how quickly the players have picked up the gameplan that he would like to implement, and explained that rather than tinker with combinations that are still developing he would like to use the dead rubber to iron out the glitches that occurred in the first two games.

He said: "I am very happy with the huge strides the team has made in the way that we play, I think there are a lot of people that have been surprised by the way that we play, but this is not even ten percent of where we need to be a long journey.

"The one area that I can tick now is that the players understand the gameplan, I won't say that we have executed it 100 percent but at least they understand the way we want to play.

"There were glimpses of great rugby in both of the Test matches so far and we just need to take it further and fill in the small details," Meyer added.

The Bok coach believes that the best way to achieve this is to keep the identity of the side intact for the final Test this weekend, which was the biggest influence on the changes he has had to make to the team.

By replacing Willem Alberts with debutant Jacques Potgieter the Boks have swopped one destructive blindside flank for another, whilst the inclusion of Wynand Olivier at inside centre ensures that captain Jean de Villiers is able to continue in his new role in the No.13 jersey.

Olivier will be expected to perform the direct role that Frans Steyn has taken up in the last two weeks, whilst at fullback Meyer believes that he has the best available option in Gio Aplon.

He explained: "I think it is important for Jean [De Villiers] to stick in one area at this stage, we thought of moving Jean and then bringing in JP [Pietersen - to outside centre] but it is still a very tough series and we want to win, so I don't want to make too many moves.

"Wynand is very established as a 12 and he has not started a lot of his Test matches in South Africa, most of them have been overseas, so this is an opportunity for him to show what he can do. Wynand has also played with Morne [Steyn] in many games so it was the logical choice there.

"I don't want to move Jean back in the next series when Frans Steyn comes back because I think he needs to settle, and I think the backline has really been playing good rugby. With all of the ball they have got they have looked dangerous so I want to keep the continuity there," said the Bok coach.

By keeping changes to a minimum Meyer is giving his team the chance to build momentum as an outfit, while also sending out a strong message that there will be no such thing as a second-rate Springbok side in the future.