Springboks squad winners and losers as Rassie Erasmus issues ‘deserved breaks’ and fresh ‘opportunities’ in Argentina
Our winners and losers from Rassie Erasmus' selections for the clash against Argentina.
Following the announcement of Rassie Erasmus’ 28-man Springboks squad for their short tour to Argentina, we pick out our winners and losers.
South Africa head to South America knowing that a victory will seal a first Rugby Championship title since 2019 after defeating the Wallabies and All Blacks back-to-back in the opening four rounds of the competition.
With Boks playing just one fixture against Los Pumas in Argentina, Erasmus has opted to split his current squad and leave seven players at home to recover and prepare for the return fixture in Nelspruit.
This has opened the door once again for players to impress the head coach, particularly in the hostile environment that games in Argentina always produce.
Winners
Los Pumas fans
In previous editions of the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks and Springboks have been guilty of weakened teams to Argentina but that is not the case this time.
While Erasmus has rested a handful of star players, Los Pumas fans will still see many World Cup champions in action with 19 of the 28 squad members featuring either in the 2019 or 2023 tournament or both.
The nine other players who have not hoisted the William Webb Ellis Cup are in the squad are either young up-and-comers or have been recalled to the squad due to the lengthy injury list that Boks are contending with.
Even if all nine of those non-World Cup winners feature in the Test match, it will be by no means a weaker Springboks outfit with the likes of Aphelele Fassi, Johan Grobbelaar, Ruan Nortje, Elrigh Louw and Jan-Hendrik Wessels all impressing in Green and Gold this year.
It is also a mark of how seriously Erasmus and his coaching team are viewing this fixture with the likes of stalwarts Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, captain Siya Kolisi, Handre Pollard and others making the cut.
Marco van Staden
After starring in the victories over Australia, Marco van Staden, unfortunately, missed out on both of the Tests against the All Blacks, making way for Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi. Erasmus confirmed that the Bulls star was on the cusp of making both teams, after actually naming him on the bench for the Ellis Park Test, but he fell out on both occasions.
Van Staden is bound to make the matchday 23 this time around, surely? The man affectionately known as Eskom by the squad is thoroughly deserving of his inclusion in the travelling team.
Argentina poses a mighty challenge on the ground and the gnarly back-row is just the kind of player that the Boks could use to combat that strength.
Johan Grobbelaar
The Bulls hooker earned his second Test start against Australia in Perth but was released by the Springboks upon their return to South Africa for the Tests against the All Blacks.
Erasmus stated earlier this year that Johan Grobbelaar is clearly the third-choice hooker and he now gets another opportunity to prove himself and fill the huge void that Bongi Mbonambi leaves.
Grobbelaar is being set up to succeed considering the quality props he has around him and is likely to get the nod for a starting role with Malcolm Marx ably backing him up from the bench. Argentina will also be a good Test for the inexperienced international hooker with their recent tendency to have two locks on their bench while they usually have five lineout jumpers in their starting XV too. Not to forget the fact that he will go toe-to-toe with the wily and simply brilliant Julian Montoya.
Overworked Springboks
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has been nothing short of sensational in his debut international season but now earns a well-deserved break after featuring in every single Springboks matchday 23 this year. The youngster has taken his opportunity with both hands and some but there is a risk of burnout and Erasmus clearly saw that when placing him on the bench last time out against the All Blacks and now gives him a deserved break before the Nelspruit Test.
Joining Feinberg-Mngomezulu on ‘a specialised training programme’ to remain sharp are the tireless workhorses Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende. The pair of double World Cup winners have been working overtime racking up the full 80-minute performances for the Boks in heavy traffic too. Injuries in the second-row and the suspension of Andre Esterhuizen mean that du Toit and de Allende have worked overtime in recent games and get a much-needed rest. The same can be said of hooker Bongi Mbonambi and prop Frans Malherbe.
Manie Libbok
Unless Erasmus makes another interesting call for the clash, Manie Libbok is bound to get an opportunity against Argentina have fallen down the pecking order since the Rugby World Cup. He has been the victim of Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s success and will be hellbent at proving himself once again.
The Bok boss hinted that Libbok could be one of the players who will get into the matchday 23 when he announced the touring party.
“This is a short tour, and we are confident that we have sufficient cover in all the positions within this group,” said Erasmus.
“Some players, such as Johan Grobbelaar, Manie Libbok, Jaden Hendrikse, and Canan Moodie – to name a few – will benefit immensely from more game time at this level, while other players such as Aphelele Fassi and Ben-Jason Dixon for example grabbed their chances with both hands this season and we are excited to see them back in action.”
Ben-Jason Dixon
One tough day at the office does not end a Springboks’ Test career as is the case for Ben-Jason Dixon who returns to the squad after being released ahead of the second All Blacks’ clash.
Dixon was a standout against Wales, Portugal and Australia but had an underwhelming performance against New Zealand. After naming his squad for the clash in Cape Town, Erasmus said that the coaching team believes that Dixon has a long international career ahead of him and said that he would probably start against Los Pumas. The Stormers star will be fired up to make the most of his chance and it’s a fantastic opportunity for him as he will go up against some of the best back-rowers in the game in the form of Pablo Matera, Marcos Kremer and Juan Martin Gonzalez.
Rassie Erasmus
We might sound a bit like a broken record here but Erasmus is blessed with a fantastic pool of talent that he is afforded the opportunity to rest some world-class stars but still name a strong travelling squad.
Pieter-Steph du Toit is producing the kind of performances that will have him in the running for the World Rugby Player of the Year Award and the same applies to Feinberg-Mngomezulu for the Breakthrough star. Both players don’t make the trip and few coaches, if any, could afford to lose such quality and replace them rather seamlessly.
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Losers
Steven Kitshoff
A mainstay in the Springboks squad since his Test debut back in 2016 but Steven Kitshoff’s knee injury has hampered his involvement this year.
Erasmus and scrum coach Daan Human are clearly comfortable with the quality in the front row that they currently have, and rightly so, but on a personal level, Kitshoff will be eager to get back in the Green and Gold jersey.
Having returned to full fitness and featuring for Western Province in the Currie Cup, Kitshoff is clearly up for selection but obviously, the Springboks staff believe it is too soon and would rather not risk the world-class loosehead just yet.
While Kitshoff is away, the likes of Ox Nche and Gerhard Steenekamp have starred while Jan-Hendrik Wessels has also impressed. The depth is impressive.
RG Snyman
RG Snyman really has no luck when it comes to injuries. The Bok lock was in fine form in Green and Gold in July starring against Ireland and Portugal. He was set to feature against the Wallabies in Australia but the injury concern he had proved far worse than initially expected and he not only missed the matches Down Under but also against the All Blacks.
He has now set up shop in Dublin and both Leinster and the Boks will be praying that he gets over this latest injury setback as soon as possible.
Trevor Nyakane
Erasmus expressed the desire to blood in youth into the Bok squad this year and has done so but that has seemingly come at a cost to the excellent Trevor Nyakane. The Boks’ front-row depth has been referenced more than once here and while 35-year-old Nyakane is still part of that pecking order, his days in the Green and Gold jersey look to be numbered.
There is no shame in that after the glorious career he has had in the international set-up winning two World Cups, a Rugby Championship and the British & Irish Lions Series.
Andre Esterhuizen
Andre Esterhuizen took up the opportunity to sort out a few injury niggles during his suspension following his red card against Portugal. However, that has also cost him an opportunity to shine for the Springboks as he would have surely made this squad.
