Rassie Erasmus explains Springboks’ Bomb Squad plans for Australia, concerns over RG Snyman
Rassie Erasmus explains his plans around the Bomb Squad for Australia.
Rassie Erasmus has explained his thinking around the 6-2 split to tackle Australia in the Rugby Championship opener, particularly with Springboks lock RG Snyman in doubt for the clash.
Unsurprisingly, Erasmus has opted for another 6-2 split in favour of the forwards for the tournament opener but with a slight twist, with two back-rowers included as the back-five cover along with the versatile Ben-Jason Dixon covering lock.
Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp and Vincent Koch provide front-row cover in the ‘Bomb Squad’ while Grant Williams and Handre Pollard are the two backs.
Pieter-Steph du Toit’s return to lock
The Bok coaching staff see Dixon as a blindside flanker but Erasmus believes that there is plenty that the Stormers star can learn from the world-class Pieter-Steph du Toit in his ability to cover the back and second-row.
Du Toit started his career jumping between the two positions and many pundits and Erasmus himself believed that lock was where he was better but he has since become one of the best flankers in the world.
While Du Toit hasn’t returned to the second-row for some time now, he may well do so on Saturday against Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane following the plethora of injuries that the Boks have suffered in the role.
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Lood de Jager sustained an injury in the Japan Rugby League One season final while Franco Mostert broke his leg in the second Test against Ireland. Meanwhile, Jean Kleyn has still not returned to the pitch after picking up an injury during the World Cup final.
“In this match, I think the way to go is either the two locks must go the full 80 minutes or Pieter-Steph must move to lock,” Erasmus said when asked about the make-up of his bench.
“We have been trying Ben-Jason Dixon at lock in training but we are careful not to play him out of position but almost perform like Pieter-Steph did in the past.
“A lot of people said that Pieter-Steph should only play lock which we all thought was his best position in the beginning but then he became one of the best sevens in the world. So we think Ben-Jason, can learn a lot from Pieter-Steph and the way he can alternate between 7 and 5.”
Breakdown blitz
Malcolm Marx joins Smith and Van Staden on the bench after recovering from the injury he sustained in the second Test match against Ireland, which means that the Boks have three breakdown specialists in the ‘Bomb Squad’ for the Wallabies, a move to combat that the Wallabies’ strengths.
“We are playing an Australian team that likes to keep the ball in hand and will definitely try and move us around a lot,” Erasmus explained.
“So we will have to make sure there are not too many gaps and normally it is the forwards who suffer when the pace is really high. So either we will move Pieter-Steph to 5 and get three fresh loose forwards on or maybe move Ben-Jason to one of the locks.”
RG Snyman in doubt
South Africa’s injury woes in the second-row could be worsened before kick-off on Saturday with Erasmus revealing that starting lock Snyman is in doubt for the clash.
Snyman has been named in the pack alongside Eben Etzebeth and in the case that he is unable to feature against the Wallabies, the Bok head coach revealed that Bulls lock Ruan Nortje could catapult into the starting XV.
“RG has got a little bit of niggle and we might even move Ruan Nortje into the starting line-up to have a specialist number five lock but it’s just a normal 6-2 split,” Erasmus added.
“And Kwagga can always cover if we get three injuries in the backline.”
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