Difficult, tricky outing for India against South Africa

NEW DELHI: Few can forget South Africa’s grand entry into World Cup in a parched Sydney, back in 1994. Having been re-admitted to mainstream sports at the end of the Apartheid era, the South African team then was an unknown quantity. But coach Gavin Featherstone, the slick talker that he was, ensured headlines for his team as he had the quotes-hungry media eating out of his hands.

Featherstone backed his words with performances on and off the field that made everyone sit up and take notice of South Africa who drew four of their five league matches – 1-1 with Germany, 2-2 with India, goalless with South Korea and 1-1 with Belgium.

South Africa’s only loss was a 1-5 result against the Netherlands who by then had already qualified for the semi-finals.

Featherstone let fly after the match, disputing three of the five Dutch goals. “There is one rule for the rich, another for the poor. We had the same officials (umpires) for three matches. The Dutch played in third gear,” lambasted Featherstone.

The other quotable quote from Featherstone came after the match against India that was played at 1.30 in the afternoon with temperatures in the 40-45 degrees Celcius.

“The next World Cup will be played in January in Iceland…the Indians had very few ideas…umpiring decisions frustrated us…I don’t give excuses, but only reasons,” thundered Featherstone at a lively post-match media conference.

Since that hot afternoon in Sydney, India have played South Africa only twice more in the World Cup and both in 2006 at Monchengladbach, Germany, where the teams drew 1-1 in the league and India won the 11-12 playoff 1-0.

If anything, the South Africans have no pretensions of being World-beaters in hockey. Their ploy is to pack the defence and wait for an opening to counter attack. Even the best of forwards have found it a frustrating experience trying to carve a way through the heavily numbered South African defence and India have been no exception.

Thus, though many might fancy easy pickings of three points against South Africa when India meet them March 8 considering the African champions’ track record at the World Cup where they have been cellar-dwellers, it will be a difficult outing.

Historically, Indians have struggled when chained through close man-to-man marking since they are yet to master the art of off-the-ball running to create space to receive passes. Under the circumstances, it would be foolhardy to take South Africa lightly.

South Africa might not yet be ready to compete in the big league, especially after losing all their six matches at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but they are a kind of team against whom one needs to keep the wits about.

South Africa in World Cup (3 appearances):
10th in 1994; 13th in 2002; 12th in 2006.

India in World Cup (11 appearances):
Winners in 1975; 3rd in 1971; 2nd in 1973; sixth in 1978; fifth in 1982, 1994; 12th in 1986; 10th in 1990, 2002; ninth in 1998, 11th in 2006.