Opinion: Springbok management finally addresses weak points in the squad
The Springboks and South Africa ‘A’ squads were announced on Friday ahead of a busy November, which is one of the final opportunities to find answers and build significantly towards the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
Both squads show a mix of experience and youth to be deployed across four Tests and two midweek games in a massive month in the context of the Springboks’ goal to defend their World Cup title next year.
The decision to add the two midweek games for South Africa ‘A’ against Munster and Bristol Bears is a brilliant move that allows the management to trial young stars, test some more experienced heads and most of all get minutes into newer faces within the national structure – which will be vital for squad depth.
With that being said, does the dual squad selection address the kinks in the Springboks‘ armour?
Fly-half
The most publicised concern in the squad given the unavailability of Handre Pollard and Elton Jantjies is fly-half, while the lack of reliability of the injury-prone Johan Goosen has thrown question marks on his spot in the World Cup picture.
Damian Willemse stepped into the playmaking role with aplomb, injecting speed and enthusiasm into the Springbok attack during the latter stages of the Rugby Championship, and rightly goes into November and beyond as the first choice number 10.
Director of rugby Rassie Erasmus made it clear that Willemse is considered a fly-half option going forward, despite his struggles from the kicking tee.
“Damian, in our eyes, now is a fly-half, you know, we see him going to the World Cup as fly-half. I think people forget that last kick that he kicked over against Wales was to win that Test match. You know, goal kicking we are working on, and there’s a lot of guys who can kick,” Erasmus said.
However, coach Jacques Nienaber and his management team have finally selected more specialist fly-halves in the consistent Manie Libbok and Junior Springbok captain Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who could provide long-term answers to the Springboks’ woes with that position.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu is the name on everyone’s lips at the moment and uniquely earned his selection after only having played a handful of United Rugby Championship games for the Stormers. However, it was the presence of Junior Springbok coach Bafana Nhleko at the training camp who provided detailed insight on the young prodigy.
“Bafana (Nhleko) has coached Sacha for some time. So it was nice to step into his experience of him and all the stuff that they worked on within the junior ranks. So it was nice to get that feedback,” Nienaber said.
“The thing that stood out for me from Sacha is that he is obviously athletic. He’s fast, he’s quick, he’s agile, he’s got good skills. I think from a defensive viewpoint that really impressed me for his age.”
Ultimately the inclusion of the Stormers duo is fantastic for the Springboks going forward, with both stars versatile enough to play multiple positions in the backline.
Including experienced Goosen and Lions star Gianni Lombard in the second-string side adds further to the November assessment of who will be trusted as a viable option going forward.
When the incumbent Pollard returns, the Springboks will be in good shape at fly-half, provided the new faces show the ability to step up to Test level.
Outside centre
Given that the fly-half situation is being addressed, the next and most concerning position in the Springboks squad is outside centre. Lukhanyo Am has been sorely missed and will only return in February, leaving Jesse Kriel to hold the position, which he does adequately.
However, the Springboks do not have much depth outside of that and have shifted Damian de Allende to 13 on occasion, something they are content with doing. Still, that is a stop-gap solution, and the Springbok management needs to be careful not to let the number 13 role fall into a similar situation as the fly-half depth did.
In the South Africa ‘A’ squad, Lions sensation Henco van Wyk earns a call-up alongside veteran Cornal Hendricks, who has had to jump through several hoops on the medical front to be selected. The duo are the next best options at 13, although Hendricks can also play elsewhere.
Van Wyk looks extremely exciting, and if he goes well for the second-string side, then the 21-year-old may well be a solution to concerns at outside centre with the possibility of rising above Kriel in the pecking order by the World Cup.
Hooker
The Springboks have two world-class hookers in Bongi Mbonambi and Malcolm Marx but have had question marks over their third choice hooker after Joseph Dweba struggled earlier this year.
One might think that a third hooker should not be a great concern, but because of the Springboks’ philosophy to use the bench so much, one injury can offset the balance.
Erasmus sees utility forward Deon Fourie as the next option at hooker and is looking to take the Stormer to the World Cup in a similar capacity to Schalk Brits.
“I think Deon Fourie is actually picked ahead of Joseph at this stage,” Erasmus said. “Fourie is a real option to take to the World Cup just like a guy like Schalk Brits was.”
It is difficult for Dweba, who will have to prove himself in the second string side alongside Stormers colleague Andre Hugo-Venter.
The coaches have forced Dweba to fight for his spot, which may extract the best out of the hooker. However, the ball is clearly in his court to find form and climb up the pecking order again.
General forward pack
One glaring omission was veteran Duane Vermeulen. However, the Springbok management is not concerned at all as the Ulster number eight is still in their plans, but they feel he does not need any more experience at this stage, opening the door for a player like Evan Roos to get a few more caps under his belt.
“We don’t think a guy like Duane needs any more experience, and he has been really well managed at Ulster,” Erasmus explained.
“This is probably the perfect tour when you’re playing No 1 [Ireland] and No 2 [France] in the world to see some of the other youngsters if they get an opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Leinster’s Jason Jenkins returns to the Springboks set-up for the first time in four years with the design of stepping into the role of RG Snyman, who has had a torrid time with injury since the World Cup triumph.
“Last time he (Snyman) played for us was at the World Cup. He has been in camp with us sharing a week or two just to get up to speed but then he gets another setback. We have to sometimes stop thinking he can make it to the World Cup and if we leave it until after this end-of-year tour we will be taking a big risk not to make sure we have a third or fourth front lock,” added Erasmus.
“Jason is somebody who will probably give us some of those answers hopefully when we play these six games on tour.”
Jenkins may also provide extremely useful information on his Leinster team-mates, who make up a large portion of Ireland’s squad.
Verdict
The Springbok management has finally selected the right mix of players to address weak areas, improve others and, most importantly, prepare for the future.
Ultimately, Springbok fans should be happy with the squads selected as it is likely the best extended group to work with less than a year out from the World Cup.
