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Bret Harris | August 03, 2009
Article from: The Australian
WALLABY second-rower Nathan Sharpe will be a key figure in the Test against the Springboks in Cape Town on Sunday.
Sharpe will be pitted against the world's premier lineout forward, Victor Matfield, in one of the most important head-to-head clashes in the match.
Just a year ago Sharpe was omitted from the Wallabies squad for their two-Test tour of South Africa.
Even though he joined them in South Africa as an emergency replacement for the injured Dan Vickerman, Sharpe did not make the Test squad.
Critics began to question whether Sharpe still had the capacity to play at the Test level, but he reinvented himself on the Wallabies' end-of-season tour of Hong Kong and Europe.
Sharpe played one of his best games in the Wallabies' win against England at Twickenham.
It was a physical game against an opponent that had dominated the Wallabies in the contact zone in the past, but Sharpe stood up to the English forwards.
He then broke his hand early in the Wallabies' win against France and played the following week in the loss to Wales, displaying a toughness that his critics did not believe he had.
The Wallabies will need Sharpe to step up again if they are to upset the Springboks, whose game-plan revolves around the lineout.
The Springboks employ a simple, but effective strategy of kicking for the corners, dominating the lineout and using the rolling maul to force the opposition into error or infringement.
"Nothing changes for us," Sharpe said. "We have to be on top of our game in that area (lineout).
"Matfield reads the lineout well and backs his throwers. When they are on song, they are hard to defend.
"You add Juan Smith and Pierre Spies to the equation and they've got a pretty healthy lineout.
"We've worked hard in that area and hopefully it will stand us in good stead."
The All Blacks virtually conceded the lineout to the Springboks in their consecutive Tests losses in Bloemfontein and Durban over the past two weeks to prepare to combat the rolling maul.
But the Wallabies will look to contest the lineout.
"They (the All Blacks) were quite concerned about the Springboks' mauling play from lineouts so they decided not to challenge in the air," Sharpe said.
"To beat the Springboks you have to contest them right across the park."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html