Bokrometer: Springboks hopefuls ‘decimate’ Irish pack as Cameron Hanekom steals the show
This week's Bokrometer is dominated by the standout performances from the Bulls' stars in the URC semi-final.
The Springboks Test week is finally upon us as Rassie Erasmus kicks off his second tenure as head coach against Warren Gatland’s Wales at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Erasmus will have kept an eagle eye on proceedings in Pretoria as the Bulls remained in the hunt for United Rugby Championship (URC) glory, defeating ex-Bok coach Jacques Nienaber’s Leinster side in an epic semi-final.
South Africa departs for the United Kingdom this week for the first Test match of 2024, but before the internationals get underway, Bokrometer takes another look at who will have impressed Erasmus and his coaching staff with their club involvements this week while the injury list continued to balloon.
Daan Human has options!
Springboks scrum guru Daan Human will have been salivating on Saturday afternoon as he dissected the scrummaging performance of the Bulls against an all-Irish international pack.
Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw absolutely decimated Tadhg Furlong, Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter respectively in the set-piece battle as the Bulls flexed one of their traditional strengths in emphatic fashion.
The Leinster front-row will trade the blue jerseys for green (or whatever alternative strip the Irish have for the tour to South Africa) for the two Test matches in July, which gave the Bulls’ Bok hopefuls the ideal opportunity to lay down a marker and boy did they!
The Irish pack was put into reverse gear from the very first scrum, with Louw melting Porter with the Leinster pack saved by the brilliance of Jamison Gibson-Park; they were rather lucky to escape sanction on the second scrum when Furlong belly flopped to the ground with the Bulls told to use it and were so again for the third as well when Porter drove in at an angle. It was carnage from start to finish, with the Bulls comfortably dominating throughout the match, and perhaps the greatest example of their superiority was the old-school tighthead – against the head scrum – in the 52nd minute with Cameron Hanekom charging down the blindside after a turnover.
Louw has been a game-changing signing for the Bulls this season, and his performances will surely get him another look into the squad despite the ridiculous tighthead depth that includes double World Cup winners Trevor Nyakane, Frans Malherbe and Vincent Koch, as well as uncapped Stormers star Neethling Fouche and Bath’s Thomas du Toit. Bordeaux-based Carlu Sadie is still a bolter for 2024.
Meanwhile, Erasmus spoke highly of Steenekamp last week, suggesting that he would be recalled to the squad after the Bulls’ domestic season comes to a close.
Grobbelaar was seen with an ice pack strapped to his ankles after the win over Leinster having played just 40 minutes of the match before being ably replaced by Akker van der Merwe, which will be a concern for the Bulls, but both players put in stellar performances that will do their hopes of a call-up no harm.
Ruan Nortje
Staying with the Bulls and lock Ruan Nortje made another press for selection after he too was mentioned by Erasmus during the week.
The energetic Bulls skipper had another phenomenal game with a ludicrous work-rate from minute one to 80, showcasing again why he has drawn comparisons to double World Cup winner Franco Mostert.
He ran the lineout superbly, got stuck into the rucks both on defence and attack while notching up 12 tackles and one turnover. Nortje has been really impressive throughout the season despite his injury setbacks and is sure to add to his single Bok cap in the near future.
Cameron Hanekom
Player of the Match against an all-Ireland pack, and the award was well-deserved as Hanekom was clearly the best player on Loftus Versveld on Saturday.
The 22-year-old continues to deliver performances way beyond his years, and against Leinster, he had arguably his best game yet, which hints that he may be ready for the step up to international rugby already.
His stats from the encounter go some way in highlighting his performance as he made more tackles (18), clean breaks (3), metres (81), turnovers (2), and beat more defenders (6) than any other player in the match and topped the carry (10) and clean break (3) count for the Bulls with a joint-match high for offloads (2). But that is just a snapshot of what a truly sensational performance that he produced.
Bulls v Leinster: Five takeaways as Springboks hopefuls ‘obliterate’ lacklustre Irish internationals
Elrigh Louw
Another Bulls back-rower who rose to the challenge of tackling almost the identical pack that Andy Farrell will pick for the two Tests in July is Elrigh Louw, who performed sensationally in tandem with Hanekom and Marco van Staden.
Louw is renowned for his relentless work rate and uncompromising approach to the physical part of the game and he produced on both metrics yet again, hammering into the Leinster players on both sides of the ball.
His stats included 13 tackles, nine carries and over 60 metres with ball in hand and while Pieter-Steph du Toit has the number seven Springboks jumper locked in going forward, he has stiff competition from the Bulls tyro who could also press for the number eight jersey.
Cobus Reinach
Scrum-half is another position where the Springboks are spoilt for choice, and this weekend, Cobus Reinach produced another sturdy shift in a clutch match.
Starring down the barrel of possible relegation, Montpellier needed a win over Grenoble to remain in the Top 14 next season, and Reinach did his bit to ensure their victory. The nippy number nine played just 45 minutes but put in an action-packed performance that included 45 running metres, one turnover and four tackles.
Johan Goosen
There is plenty of chatter around the Springboks’ number 10 jumper yet again this season, and while Handre Pollard is set to be the go-to option in the starting role, strong candidates are lining up to be his deputy.
Erasmus is certainly keen to explore those options with Manie Libbok, Siya Masuku, Jordan Hendrikse and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu all named in his first official squad of the year.
But still, Johan Goosen remains a fantastic option for the Boks and could rekindle his Test career after yet another fine season that has flown somewhat under the radar. He was superb against Leinster, comfortably outplaying his opposite number, and worked perfectly in unison with Willie le Roux to execute a well-played tactical masterclass against the Irish province.
He kicked accurately from the tee, and his canon boot really came in handy with the Bulls winning more kicking duels than they lost. He also scored a crucial try in the match, and while the Boks are spoilt for choice at number 10, one should not forget the Goose.
David Kriel
At the risk of literally listing the entire Bulls starting XV, it would be a disservice not to mention the brilliant David Kriel, who continued his stellar form in the semi-final.
Kriel was tasked with fronting up against Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw in the centres and to a large extent, he kept the pair rather quiet. Ringrose, playing his first game back from injury, landed a monster hit on Hanekom but struggled to influence the game much from there as the Bulls centres shot up and shut down just about every threatening Leinster attack.
It was not quite the box-office performance we have come to expect from the Bulls utility back, but it was a mature one that indicates that he is trending in the right direction.
Willie le Roux
Form is temporary, Le Roux is permanent. There were claims that he was ‘rolling back the years’ and ‘looked five years younger’ on Saturday afternoon against Leinster, but frankly, he has been performing in this manner for quite some time now.
Le Roux was the heartbeat of the Bulls’ effort for the 50-odd minutes that he was on the pitch before a cheap shot forced him off as he executed the Bulls’ attacking plan masterfully, putting the Nienaber-led defence under immense pressure.
Erasmus hinted that if the Bulls failed to topple Leinster that Le Roux could well be starting against Wales this week and had the veteran Bok not been on the pitch for those 50-odd minutes, then it is more than likely he would have been available to the Springboks.
Dillyn Leyds
With somewhat of a winger crisis in the Springbok set up, perhaps Erasmus could turn to La Rochelle star Dillyn Leyds, who helped his side defeat Toulon 34-29 in the Top 14 Barrages this weekend.
The former Stormers speedster grabbed a try in the victory and kept Toulon’s Fijian powerhouse Setariki Tuicuvu rather quiet throughout the match.
Leyds is a multi-skilled utility back who has consistently performed to a high level for La Rochelle and could this finally be the year he finds a route back into the Green and Gold jumper?
Siya Kolisi’s Top 14 season comes to a close
Double World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi is set to link up with the Bok squad next week after his debut Top 14 season came to a close this weekend.
The back-rower started Racing 92’s Top 14 Barrage match against Bordeaux and had a solid outing for the Parisian club who were outplayed 31-17 by Bordeaux.
Top 14 wrap: La Rochelle set up epic semi-final, Montpellier clinch ‘richest game in rugby’
Injuries rack up
The injuries just keep racking up for the Springboks with Lood de Jager now set for a two month spell on the sidelines, according to reports.
It is yet another setback for the second-rower who missed the 2023 Rugby World Cup due to a health concern.
He is set to miss the July internationals and could be joined by Le Roux, who sustained a suspected neck injury against Leinster.
This after Erasmus confirmed the injury list last week, which includes Steven Kitshoff, De Jager, Canan Moodie, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian Willemse, Jean Kleyn, Henco van Wyk, Jaden Hendrikse and Jean-Luc du Preez.
Oom Rugby’s Springboks team to face Wales
Last week, we asked you to send in your predicted Springbok team to face Wales and popular rugby analyst Oom Rugby replied with his team to face Wales.
Send in your opinions and predicted line-ups to planetrugbyeditor@planetsport.com and you too could feature on the site.
Oom Rugby’s Springbok team: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian De Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Phespi Buthlezi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Quan Horn
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