Saturday August 29, 2009
Springboks stay up late before Tri-Nations tie against Australia
SYDNEY: South Africa have resorted to an unusual tactic that would normally give the traditionalists nightmares in a bid to end their poor record in Australia.
Instead of going to bed early on the eve of today’s Tri-Nations clash in Perth, the Springbok players have been told to stay up until 2am.
But there will be no wild parties until the wee hours for the world champions - it is just the latest ploy management hope will help the players overcome the effects of jetlag before tonight’s match.
South African teams have struggled to adapt quickly enough to the different time zones when they began previous tours to Australia but believe they have may found the answer.
Rather than try to adjust, the Pretoria-based Bulls simply wound back their clocks and stayed on South African time during their trip to Australia for the Super 14 this year.
“That’s something we’ve tried with the Bulls and it really worked in the first week (on the road) in the Super 14,” Springboks lock Victor Matfield told reporters yesterday. “We look over the Super 14s and South African Super 14 teams have done better (recently) than in the long past, so hopefully we can do the same with the Springboks.
“It’s something that’s needed if we want to be a successful team.”
South Africa have only beaten the Wallabies twice on Australian soil since the Tri-Nations began in 1996 but both wins were at Perth’s Subiaco Oval.
Perth is the closest Australian state capital to South Africa and boasts a large expatriate community, giving the visiting Springboks a little taste of home.
“It’s not too far to travel and only six hours time difference and there’s a lot of South Africans here to support us so it does make it a little bit easier,” Matfield said.
“But any game playing away in the Tri-Nations is tough.”
The Springboks are unbeaten in this year’s Tri-Nations after winning their three home games while the Australians have lost their three matches, one each in New Zealand, South Africa and at home. — Reuters
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