Peter de Villiers insists his South Africa side will not change their approach despite the importance of their final Tri Nations encounter against New Zealand in Hamilton on Saturday. The Springboks coach has made only one change to his starting line-up for the crucial clash at the Waikato Stadium ? a match the visitors must win to guarantee themselves the title for the first time since 2004. Following last weekend's 21-6 humbling at the hands of Australia, De Villiers has resisted the urge to wield the axe and has instead only replaced fullback Ruan Pienaar with Francois Steyn, whose ability to kick for territory earned him a recall. A defeat coupled by the All Blacks winning their final game against Australia could spell a disastrous end to the 2009 competition for the world champions.
De Villiers said: "New Zealand is a very proud rugby nation and they have dominated the Tri Nations for years. "They will want badly to retain the trophy, so we expect it's going to be tough, they are going to throw everything at us. "We treat all games the same. We are ambassadors for our country and we don't want to let ourselves down or the people back home down. So all international games are like finals for us." Explaining his axing of Pienaar, a player he holds in high regard, in favour of Steyn, he continued: "We've tried to keep it as simple as possible. But there is a bit of horses for courses and Frans can play a major role in Hamilton with his boot.
"It's not a shift in game plan. With Dan Carter at fly-half for the All Blacks we are expecting them to kick quite a bit and Frans will be able to play a key role with his big boot." Winger Bryan Habana, who has been under an injury cloud with a hamstring strain, and No 8 Pierre Spies (groin) have both been included but will be monitored closely in the build-up. De Villiers said: "The medical team has worked intensively with a few players this week and they will continue to do so between now and the game. "We always said that we expected to pick up a few injuries close to the end of the Tri Nations and it is a case of managing the players properly."
Yesterday Bakkies Botha spoke of how victory over the same opponents in Dunedin last year left the Springboks even more determined to succeed this time around. That win ended a 10-year drought of not beating the All Blacks on their own turf and De Villiers echoed the sentiments of his lock. He added: "After Dunedin, the self-belief in this team is huge. "They don't care whether they are playing in Dunedin or Durban, they know they have a job to do and they know that, if they are at their best, then they will always be competitive. "The home crowd might play a small role, or maybe the wind will play a role or some other uncontrollable. But this team know they can handle all those things." * PA Sport
