Larkham wary of Springboks

12 April 2012

Australia fly-half Stephen Larkham has warned his teammates to be wary of South Africa's backline when the two sides meet in the final Tri Nations clash at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Larkham was impressed with the showing of the new look Springbok backline in their 21-20 victory over New Zealand and especially with fly-half Andre Pretorius' marshalling of his troops.

"They were much improved and looked very impressive at stages," Larkham told journalists at the team hotel in Johannesburg. "I think their combination at centre was a formidable one and I think since the start of the Tri-Nations this year they have really grown as a backline."

He added: "Pretorius coming back into the side has certainly helped in some decision making and giving them a little bit of latitude out in the backline.

"Andre is pretty good defensively but his big strength is in attack. He kicks the ball very well and has an accurate boot and with ball in hand he attacks the line more than other flyhalves over here.

"We are going to have to be on our toes defensively," he added.

Larkham has always been a target for the South African loose forwards, but is hoping that the focus on his play may open up gaps for the rest of the backline.

"It always plays in your mind a little bit when you come up against South Africa. Generally the backrow are targeting the inside backs, I think over the years we have countered the problem quite well with distributing the ball to other players as quickly as possible.

"We take that into the game and try to distribute ball quicker and change their point of attack," said Larkham.

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