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Subscribe to RSS FeedCJ the `accidental` winner
Power play: CJ van der Linde
It took an injury to get him a regular starting position, but veteran prop Ollie le Roux believes that fellow Free State Cheetahs front row forward CJ van der Linde is the best man for the job, as South Africa search for a way to stop England's man mountain Andrew Sheridan in the World Cup Final.
South Africa and England will go head-to-head in the World Cup Final in Paris on Saturday, with the scrum battle one of the key areas of the grand finale of this global showpiece.
Le Roux, who played more than 50 games in the Springboks front row, believes that Van der Linde has what it takes to front up to Sheridan - despite his ordinary showing against Argentina in the semi-final last week.
Van der Linde, who missed the quarter-final victory over Fiji through injury, was behind Sharks rival BJ Botha in the Bok starting queue during the pool stages.
In the Boks' 36-0 whitewash of England Botha started, before injury ruled him out ahead of the play-offs. Another Cheetah, Jannie du Plessis, was flown in as replacement and started against Fiji.
However, Van der Linde is coach Jake White's preferred choice in the starting XV and Le Roux feels that he is a better option than even Botha.
Van der Linde's size - he is considerably bigger than the injured Botha - is one of his big advantages, according to Le Roux.
"I think CJ is much stronger," Le Roux told this website.
"He is a much better athlete. He is a strong runner with the ball in hand and he's got a bit more weight. That suits our style of play. With CJ having a game under his belt he should do better [in the Final]," said Le Roux, who this week flew out of South Africa to start a one-year deal with Irish province Leinster.
"BJ is a bit of a liability to the side. He is giving away a lot of penalties and he's small - not as strong as everybody thinks," he added.
Le Roux readily admits that Van der Linde will have his work cut out for him when taking on Sheridan.
"CJ is going to have a hard time, Sheridan scrums well and he'll cause problems for the front row.
"We'll have to make sure that we use our weight to our advantage or we'll have a long day at the office. They have built up a lot of confidence after their last two wins and so our guys will have to stand up and be counted on Saturday."
Le Roux added that the Boks' old warhorse, Os du Randt, was holding up well.
"Os is doing all right," he said.
"I think he's not as athletic as he was in the past, he's not the player he used to be, but still he's got the heart. He's the kind of guy who when it comes to Finals has been there and done that, he's doing well. You can see he's well conditioned.
"He's still really going to have to lift his game for the Final though," Le Roux warned.
By Gareth Green
