Team glory the priority for Du Preez

SOUTH AFRICAN rugby sensation Fourie du Preez hopes to round off a near-perfect season by helping his side finish on a high note at Croke Park on Saturday.

Another five-star performance could well yield Du Preez a further accolade — the IRB Player of the Year Award, for which he is in the running yet again.

Du Preez is, along with Irish skipper Brian O’Driscoll, in line for the honour but is quite happy to leave it in the northern hemisphere as long as the Springboks round off the season with a win this weekend.

As far as he is concerned, the choice is a no-brainer. “I would have to opt for a team victory,” he said.

The Springboks are limping into the last leg of this long 2009 journey that has seen them clinch victory in the long-awaited series against the British and Irish Lions and follow up with Tri-Nations success.

Struck by a serious in-camp injury crisis, Du Preez hasn’t escaped and is hoping to shrug off the painful effects of a damaged hand and lend his support to one last mighty Springbok effort in Croke Park.

“I have heard a lot about Croke Park, I’m training fine and this is not a game I want to miss,” he said.

Challenges have come hot and heavy for Du Preez this season at club and national level; the odd blip apart, he has come out the other end smiling and helped his beloved Blue Bulls to a unique Currie Cup and Super 14 double.

He has seen what Irish players were capable of during the Lions tour and what the Irish team are capable of in the recent game against Australia. He observed: “I would see them as a very well balanced team that can play any type (style) of game; especially against Australia they played very well and moved the ball at the right times, but they are also capable of playing a tactical game inspired by good use of the boot.”

While Du Preez expected to face up opposite Ronan O’Gara, it came as no major surprise when Jonathan Sexton was named in the side. “We figured it would be O’Gara but we were also aware that Sexton was a contender. By all accounts he played very well against Fiji and his presence will make it a little more difficult for us because we don’t have much information on him and don’t know what he is capable of. It’s probably a big boost to Ireland because they would now appear to have two great fly halves,” he said.

On a different level, Du Preez is impressed with the progress made by Ireland in the two seasons since the 2007 World Cup. “The team did not have a good tournament so they have moved on, they have introduced new players and it appears to have paid off. Success at Test level has been matched by success in the European Cup when many players from the national squad were involved.

“I can speak for myself the importance of winning trophies, of going into games and tournaments in a confident way. From an Irish perspective, involvement in the Lions tour will be another benefit; even though the Lions failed to win the series they did win the last match and will feel good for that. Individually, the Irish guys must have gained a huge level of experience; they were amongst the best players in the Tests for the Lions,” he said.

Insider knowledge of what makes South Africa tick could be another benefit for Ireland, believes Du Preez. The presence of Gerd Smal, he says, has surely been a help to Ireland of late. “Gert was involved with the Springboks with Jake White for a few years and he is a powerfully influential figure. He will have given them some tips in a bid to combat our lineout.

“But I see this game as having challenges all over the pitch; there are so many good players on either side that it is bound to be a very tough game,” he noted.

The Springboks have dismissed as unimportant the midweek defeats to Leicester Tigers and Saracens and would prefer to forget the Test loss to France which Du Preez figures was a one-off low key performance.

“In ways, this tour of Europe was a learning process for us, particularly so for a number of new players and as a team we learned against France we must bring passion to our game and meet that passion with passion.

“The French certainly played with more passion than we did; we weren’t really up to that challenge on that day and that is something we must learn from. I was happy that we were able to put it behind us and pleased overall with a better performance against Italy. Hopefully, we can take it a stage further against Ireland,” he said.