Preview - South Africa v Uruguay

Beware the scheming South Americans

It is ironic that Joost van der Westhuizen will lead the Springboks in their opening match at the 2003 Rugby World Cup against Uruguay in Perth on Saturday. His appointment as captain may have come as a result of the misfortune of Corne Krige, but the 32-year-old scrum-half is the only player that has experience of having played against 'Los Teros' before.

No doubt he will warn his team-mates against the perils of under-estimating the scheming South Americans and make it clear to them that complacency could be their biggest downfall.

But there is another player who has more recent experience of having played against the unyielding Uruguayans, flanker Danie Rossouw - who will make his Bok debut on Saturday as a result of Krige's withdrawal because of "hamstring cramp".

Rossouw toured with the Blue Bulls during a pre-season trip to South America, where the South African provincial champions scored a convincing 46-27 win over a near full-strength Uruguay team in Montevideo in June this year.

Playing at lock, Rossouw excelled among the forwards and was rewarded for his sterling efforts by being named Man of the match. Judging by the Bulls' scoreline, where they outscored the Uruguayans by six tries to three, the Boks should be able to win at a canter in Perth on Saturday.

But Rossouw had some words of wisdom for his Bok team-mates. "They're very physical," he said. "Their forwards take you on and they also use niggling tactics."

If what Rossouw says is true, then not much has changed since the Boks struggled for 60 minutes to overcome 'Los Teros' at Hampden Park in Glasgow at RWC '99 - before finally overpowering the South Americans in the final quarter when replacement lock Albert van den Berg scored two wonderful tries.

That game, however, will be best remembered for Springbok centre Brendan Venter being red-carded, after he lost his head in a moment of madness and was given his marching orders by the referee for over-vigorous use of his boots at a ruck.

Whether there was merit in Venter's sending off or not, it proved one thing, they will use every trick in the book, with Rossouw warning: "They try to make you lose your cool." Sounds like nothing has changed ...

But like 1999, the Springboks are still expected to win without working up too much of a sweat and nothing less than a comprehensive victory and a thoroughly professional performance will satisfy their demanding supporters and often very critical media.

Coach Rudolf Straeuli has picked a near full-strength team, obviously as a trial run with a view of the all-important pool game against England next week. "It is a very strong side we have put out, and we might have one or two changes [for England]," he said.

"This is an important competition, there are bonus points and you are not really allowed the luxury of experimenting."

With that in mind the South Africans will have to get into a groove early on and not allow the opposition to unsettle them as they did in '99.

Players to watch:

For South Africa: He may be on the bench only, but there is no doubt that the entire world is waiting to see if all the hype about Derick Hougaard is true. South Africans also want to know if the young fly-half can bring his brilliant Currie Cup form into Test rugby. Expect him to get a run in the second half, when the world's spotlight will focus on him.

For Uruguay: Lock Juan Carlos Bado has been playing Test rugby for more than a decade and is just 29. One of the veterans of the '99 RWC, he too will know what to expect from the South Africans. He is one of the cornerstones in the massive 'Los Teros' pack and is well accustomed to the demands of a World Cup, having played in all three of Uruguay's games in the 1999 tournament. Bado is one of only five players in the current Uruguayan team to play their rugby professionally overseas.

Head to head: Lawrence Sephaka (South Africa) v Pablo Lemoine (Uruguay): Despite losing heavily to the Bulls earlier this year, the Uruguayan scrum messed with the much-vaunted Blue Bull pack, even scoring a pushover try. The 28-year-old Lemoine, the first Uruguayan player to sign to play professionally overseas, is the cornerstone of that scrum. At 1.82m and 129kg he provides a massive obstacle for opponents to overcome. As one of the heaviest players in world rugby, he is obviously also one of the strongest scrummagers. This will be an ideal test for Sephaka ahead of the more important showdown against England a week later. If the Bok prop can tame his Uruguayan rival, he should be fine against England.

Recent Result:
In 1999: South Africa won by 39-3 in Glasgow

Prediction: Expect there to be some tough and rough play at first and the Boks might even struggle to get going. They do have this habit of looking very ordinary against minnows. But, in the end they will put enough daylight between themselves and the Uruguay team to record a convincing enough win.

Zurich Computer Prediction: South Africa by 71 points.
Planet Rugby Prediction: South Africa by 50 points.

The teams:

South Africa: 15 Werner Greeff, 14 Ashwin Willemse, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 De Wet Barry, 11 Thinus Delport, 10 Louis Koen, 9 Joost van der Westhuizen (captain), 8 Juan Smith, 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Joe van Niekerk, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 1 Lawrence Sephaka.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Faan Rautenbach, 18 Selborne Boome, 19 Hendro Scholtz, 20 Neil de Kock, 21 Derick Hougaard, 22 Ricardo Loubscher.

Uruguay: 15 Joaqui Pastore, 14 Alfonso Cardoso, 13 Diego Aguirre (captain), 12 Martin Mendaro, 11 Emiliano Ibarra, 10 Sebastian Aguirre, 9 Emiliano Caffera, 8 Rodrigo Capo, 7 Mercelo Guttierrez, 6 Nicolas Brignoni, 5 Juan Carlos Bado, 4 Juan Alzueta, 3 Pablo Lemoine, 2 Diego Lamelas, 1 Rodrigo Sanchez.
Replacements: 16 Eduardo Berruti, 17 Juan Andres Perez, 18 Guillermo Storace, 19 Nicolas Grille, 20 Hernan Ponte, 21 Bernardo Amarillo, 22 Juan Ramon Menchaca.

Kick-off: Saturday, October 12, 20.00 local (12.00 GMT, 13.00 BST,  14.00 SAST), Live in the UK on ITV2
Venue: Subiaco Oval, Perth
Conditions: Clear. Maximum 31°C, Minimum 12°C
Referee: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Peter Marshall (South Africa), Giulio De Santis (Italy)
TMO: Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)

By Jan de Koning