Nick Mallett gives blunt verdict on Rassie Erasmus’ selection changes and reveals what he expects from Springboks in All Blacks rematch
Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus and former South Africa head coach Nick Mallett (inset).
Nick Mallett is backing Rassie Erasmus’ selection changes to his Springboks matchday squad for Saturday’s Greatest Rivalry series Test against the All Blacks at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
South Africa have their backs against the proverbial wall after suffering a humiliating 33-16 defeat against New Zealand in the opening Test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg last weekend.
Although the world champions held the upper hand early on, they failed to take all their points-scoring opportunities after holding a slender 13-12 lead at half-time. The All Blacks took control of proceedings in the second half and eventually outscored their arch-rivals by five tries to one.
Earlier this week, Mallett, who was South Africa‘s head coach from 1997 to 2000, singled out the Springboks‘ half-backs, Grant Williams and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, as the reasons for the side’s inability to score points.
Erasmus has subsequently dropped Williams and Feinberg-Mngomezulu from his starting line-up with veteran playmakers Cobus Reinach and Handre Pollard coming into the run-on side as their replacements.
Williams has been ruled out of the Cape Town clash due to a niggling injury while Feinberg-Mngomezulu was named amongst the Springboks’ backline replacements.
Erasmus has made two other alterations to his run-on side with regular captain Siya Kolisi replacing Paul de Villiers in the back-row while Ethan Hooker takes over from the injured Cheslin Kolbe on the wing.
There are also five new faces included amongst the replacements with Deon Fourie, Thomas du Toit, Lood de Jager, Cameron Hanekom and Morne van den Berg offering cover off the bench.
Mallett has complete faith in Erasmus’ selection decisions and believes alterations to the matchday squad were inevitable after the Boks lost the opening Test to the All Blacks.
‘Rassie is perfectly capable of picking the team’
“I don’t think any of us are qualified enough to tell Rassie what to do. Rassie is perfectly capable of picking the team and he knows exactly what style of play he is going to be playing and he knows the players that can play that style of play,” Mallett told the Talking Boks podcast.
“So, whatever happened at Ellis Park, the inexperience of the 9 and 10 didn’t help us, but a lot of the forwards also weren’t great in ball carries. We didn’t carry well and we were stripped a number of times.
“That was something they [South Africa] weren’t prepared for and it was very effective, particularly with Jordie Barrett but with other players too. So, 22 turnovers when we have got the ball and a lot of that time when we were in their 22 because we managed to get in there.”
Mallett believes the selection of Pollard is a clear indication that the Boks will be employing a conservative game plan this weekend. “I mean, he [Erasmus] has got a lot of work this week just on making sure that our execution is more accurate and there is no doubt an experienced number 10 who has won two World Cups, won the British Lions Series, played for Leicester, he is used to communicating well and won’t get caught up in some fast and loose game,” he explained.
“That’s just not how Pollard plays, but he will give us direction and hopefully direction with some really accurate kicking. I’m anticipating that we’re going to kick maybe twice as much as we did this last weekend and people can say, don’t kick the ball away against the All Blacks, but if you kick accurately, you’re not kicking the ball away necessarily, you could win it back.
“So, if we win 35 per cent of those, but even when the All Black player catches it, we manage to put him on the ground and to do some really strong counter-rucking, not necessarily trying to steal the ball, but just to counter-ruck, we could put them under pressure as well.”
With Reinach and Van den Berg also excellent kickers out of hand, Mallett expects them to also be crucial in the execution of the Boks’ game plan while he believes Feinberg-Mngomezulu is also set to make an impact off the bench although it will not necessarily be as the replacement fly-half.
“So now Pollard is very good at playing that game, as is Reinach, very experienced, as is Morne van den Berg,” he said. “We spoke about him last Sunday as what I consider an underrated nine. He’s got an all-court game. He’s good on the break. He tackles very well.
“He’s very strong and he’s got a very good kicking game. He’s an excellent player, so he’ll get on. Sacha is just an unbelievable individual. He can play centre, full-back or fly-half. So, it all depends on where he is needed, but he covers all those outside back positions.”
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‘He covers all those outside back positions’
Mallett also highlighted the make-up of the world champions’ forward replacements and singled out those who were not involved in the Ellis Park Test as players he expects to make a positive impact in Cape Town. “And then I like the bomb squad. It’s better that we’ve got Thomas du Toit, who’s a proper scrummager, so we’re not going to lose,” he said.
“Even if he starts, we’ve got Wilco (Louw) coming on, but we haven’t got a less experienced guy in Zach Porthen, who is more a rugby player and is learning his trade as the tighthead. And then, we know what (Deon) Fourie has done, he has played 77 minutes in a World Cup final, but just his personality is so infectious.
“He is a remarkably upbeat, positive guy. He just never thinks anyone is better than him. And like a little staffie, he’s just in amongst them stealing ball and making a nuisance of himself. So, Cameron Hanekom is a great guy coming off, you have (also) got Lood coming off the bench. T
“There’s a better balance to this team than at Ellis Park, and we are going to play a conservative game as though we’re playing the semi-final or quarter-final of the World Cup or a final. That’s why it’s going to be very, very nerve-wracking because the All Blacks will score. They will score tries because that’s just in the nature of how they play.
“But they will be giving us opportunities and it’s a question of whether we can take them. With Pollard and with Reinach there, I’m anticipating a much, much more accurate and pressurised kicking game than we had at Ellis Park.”
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