Old guard need to have the hunger

Japie Mulder built a successful career on hard graft, physical prowess and raw talent, epitomising the hard-tackling, no-nonsense Springbok midfielder of his generation.

An outside centre, he formed a potent partnership with Hennie le Roux at the 1995 World Cup and most famously played a leading role in shackling Jonah Lomu in the final.

Kitch Christie's Springboks shaped their World Cup success on sound defence and a reliable goalkicker. Now, 16 years on, Peter de Villiers's men are trying to follow suit.

"In general, the Boks play better when adopting a conservative approach. I don't feel we have the players to execute an expansive game plan," says Mulder, a coaching consultant to the Investec International Rugby Academy.

He believes the strategy of playing for possession and slotting their goals will serve the Boks well in New Zealand.

"The All Blacks can beat a side by 100 points in the pool stages but when it comes to the crunch games, they tend to crumble.

"They are not great playing under pressure, whereas South Africans thrive on it."

Since stepping out of the limelight in 2002 after a neck injury ended his career, Mulder, 41, has grown a successful company.

While he misses rugby's camaraderie, his new position has proved a good fit.

"When you retire, it's 'welcome back to reality'," he says with a laugh. "It took a while to adjust, but life's been good and I can't complain."

He loves being a husband to wife Ronel and father to a growing brood, Dian, 8, Jané, 6, Ruan, 2½, and Ivan, who is three months old.

"Dian started playing 15-man rugby this year and is enjoying collecting the current World Cup trading cards. He watches all the TV replays and asks lots of questions."

While Mulder rates the Bok class of 2011, he questions whether many of the senior players - already with a 2007 World Cup medal - will be as hungry as they were on that night in Paris four years ago.

"My only real concern is whether complacency will creep in," says the 34-Test Springbok.

"Talking from experience, once you get older you are not as motivated and tend to take shortcuts. As a youngster, you are at times more willing to die for the cause.

"However, if the Boks have the right mentality and motivation, they have a great chance of going all the way."

Mulder believes the Boks are blessed with the world's best centre pairing in Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie,.

"They are two brilliant centres - great readers of the game and equally good communicators. Playing together provincially has made them an even stronger combination."

Mulder says team unity, built on each player being content with his specific role in the squad, will be key to the Boks' title defence.

"At the 1995 World Cup, Kitch referred to his first-team starters as the gold team and the backup players as the green team," reveals Mulder.

While the gold team - of which Mulder was a member - played the crucial matches, the green team played a pivotal role in guiding the Boks to the knockout stages.

"It is important that each man plays a role to maintain team harmony.

" Francois Hougaard says that he is happy to play second fiddle to Fourie du Preez, so the younger guys have the right mentality and know their time will come."