Rugby:South Africa's former Munster centre Jean de Villiers and number eight Willem Alberts missed the squad's final training session before their tour of Europe through injury earlier today. The injury-ravaged world champions face the prospect of playing Ireland in Dublin on Saturday without any match-fit centres.
The Springboks have lost flanker Schalk Burger, centre Juan de Jongh and scrumhalf Ricky Januarie since the squad was announced last weekend. They have been replaced by fullback Zane Kirchner, veteran centre Adrian Jacobs and uncapped flanker Deon Segmann.
"We have had our challenges with the number of injuries, particularly among the centres, but that's not unusual in international rugby," coach Peter de Villiers said after training. "The players have shown a great attitude in training and we now have to take that on to the field. Ireland have a good record against us in Dublin in recent years."
And while Victor Matfield admits the recent spate of injuries is far from ideal, he is adamant the squad has enough depth to overcome Ireland.
The Springboks kick off their tour at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. However, preparations for the world champions have been hampered by late withdrawals and the absence of 13 key players.
Captain Matfield said: “There are a lot of young players coming through as well as in-form players that are in the squad at the moment. So, we are looking forward to the challenge and we know it is going to be tough in Ireland.
“But we believe in what we are doing and we believe that we can go out and do well there.”
Regular skipper John Smit, Andries Bekker, Fourie du Preez, Butch James, Heinrich Brussow, Gurthro Steekamp and BJ Botha were all ruled out some time ago, while the last two weeks have also accounted for Jaque Fourie, Wynand Olivier and JP Pietersen.
Matfield added: “It is always tough when there are injuries, especially when it is as late as they have been, and we are still waiting for two guys. But I still think we have a great squad here.”
De Villiers’ side have endured a torrid 2010 season thus far in which they have lost five out of 10 Tests — all the defeats coming in the Tri Nations. But Matfield believes the five-week trip to Britain and Ireland presents them with a perfect opportunity to make amends.
“The Tri Nations wasn’t good and there are a lot of players who want to go out there and show what they can do and what they still have in them,” he said. “Then there are some old new faces coming in like Bismarck (du Plessis) who can really make a difference and bring some energy into the team. We need to be successful on this tour.”
The Springboks leave Johannesburg tonight meaning they will only have two days in the Irish capital to prepare for the tour opener. But Matfield insists it should not be perceived as negative preparation.
He added: “It is going to be cold, but it looks as though it will be dry in Ireland on Saturday. I think the guys are used to adapting to different conditions by now. We travel to New Zealand quite often and the conditions there are quite similar to Europe, so the guys are used to it.
“As a team we are happy with the travel arrangements, and if we weren’t we would have left a week before the time. I think we’ve done it before with this team. We went to Perth and won that game as well, even though we only travelled through on the Wednesday, so it is not a first time for us.
“There are also no time zones (to pass through), so the guys will sleep on the flight, enjoy a day off the next day and then on Friday it will be the captain’s run and the guys will be focused and ready for the game.”