Springboks team: Five takeaways as Rassie Erasmus braced for All Blacks selection dilemmas with injury ‘crisis’ easing
Springboks duo Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Eben Etzebeth, who have both returned from injury.
Following the announcement of the Springboks team for their Test against Argentina, here are our five takeaways from Rassie Erasmus’ selections.
Sacha’s back
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will make his return to action this weekend, playing his first game since late-May after having ankle surgery. The fly-half missed the start of the Nations Championship as a result and, although South Africa got by quite comfortably, Erasmus will be delighted to have the 24-year-old back in the saddle.
Handre Pollard, who is on the bench against Argentina, and Manie Libbok did a fine job in his absence but Feinberg-Mngomezulu offers that extra sprinkling of stardust which will be very useful with the All Blacks on the horizon. Feinberg-Mngomezulu won’t have long to find his best, with the Los Pumas clash the Boks’ only encounter ahead of the upcoming Tests, but at least he will not be going in cold.
While the back-to-back champions have plenty of depth in the number 10 jersey, the Stormers star has already shown during his relatively brief international career that he has the all-round game to potentially go down as one of the sport’s greats. The All Blacks series will to some extent put that theory to the test, which means this weekend’s game will act as vital preparation for the hugely gifted playmaker.
Much-needed game time
We have already mentioned Feinberg-Mngomezulu but he is not the only individual getting some minutes after returning from injury as they look to put themselves in contention for the Greatest Rivalry series.
The locks Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager are among those to return as Erasmus hopes his second-row crisis begins to ease. Both players have featured just once since last year’s Autumn Nations Series but some consider them to be the Springboks’ best pairing in the engine room and could well be a key duo over the next month or so.
Ruan Nortje has perhaps usurped De Jager as the best partner for Etzebeth, given the Bulls lock’s outstanding lineout skills, but the 33-year-old still has the qualities to excel at Test level and a standout display is key looking ahead to the New Zealand matches.
In the backline, Ethan Hooker and Morne van den Berg are two more individuals who will be looking to boost their prospects of featuring against the All Blacks. Hooker did feature in his first game since April in the Nations Championship, playing 45 minutes in the victory over Scotland, but he still needs more time on the field.
As for Van den Berg, the scrum-half has been out since May and did not play in the Lions’ end-of-season run-in. His absence for the July Tests would have been a blow personally having impressed for the Springboks in the Autumn Nations Series last year, but he gets a chance this weekend to put himself in the frame.
Bomb Squad
Given that Erasmus only took 26 to South America, it is to some degree a selection simply based on who’s around. The only backs to miss out (more on that below) are Herschel Jantjies and Quan Horn, and in truth it would have been pointless adding one of those to the 23, dropping a forward and creating a 5-3 split.
However, it is still notable as in many ways it demonstrates what Erasmus has created with this Springboks outfit. Versatility has been a target for the head coach and on the bench alone you have a back-rower that can play hooker (Marco van Staden), a hooker who is also an excellent prop (Jan-Hendrik Wessels), a flanker who can fill in at lock (Ben-Jason Dixon) and a lock that has played at number eight at Test level (Cobus Wiese).
Although the Boks don’t quite get that same adaptability with their backline replacements, it wouldn’t be a surprise if one of Cobus Reinach or Van den Berg gets a stint on the wing, while Pollard has been used as centre cover on occasion. Erasmus also has the ability to shift Feinberg-Mngomezulu to full-back and utilise the experienced playmaker at 10. The Springboks therefore have a plethora of options to choose from thanks to their boss’ insistence on creating versatility.
The unlucky three
Players named in the wider training squad will always miss out but it feels particularly brutal this weekend when only 26 travelled to Argentina. Wilco Louw, Jantjies and Horn are the unfortunate trio not to be involved this weekend, and they are all notable in their own individual ways.
Louw’s is perhaps the most intriguing despite the fact he featured a couple of times in the Nations Championship. Erasmus might simply want to give youngster Zach Porthen another opportunity with the head coach seeing the more experienced prop as a guaranteed pick for the early All Blacks Tests.
However, it could also have been made with a view to selection for The Greatest Rivalry series. Former Boks coach Nick Mallett had an interesting theory that Louw’s impact has been reduced due to World Rugby depowering the scrum and it would not be a surprise if Erasmus also holds that view. Although the 32-year-old is a powerful carrier, he is not as mobile or impactful in the loose as either Thomas du Toit or Porthen, which could be a factor looking ahead to selection for New Zealand.
As for the two half-backs, it is almost certain that the coaches do not view them as options for the opening All Blacks Test. Jantjies simply has too much competition at scrum-half while Horn hasn’t quite done enough during his stints on the field to convince Erasmus that he is ready to face their arch-rivals. Given the playmaker’s ability to feature at fly-half and full-back, this would have been a perfect opportunity to give him a bench role, but it is instead Pollard who has received the nod.
Future of the back-row
South Africa still view Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese as their first choice back-row, and at the moment they are playing well enough to keep those jerseys until the 2027 Rugby World Cup, but in what is generally a very experienced team – just seven of the 23 are younger than 28 – Erasmus could be looking to the future at loose forward.
Kolisi remains and takes his place at flanker, but the Boks have included Cameron Hanekom and Elrigh Louw in the back-row – two players who could be crucial post-2027. Injury has deprived both of more Boks caps, but this is a chance for them to stake a claim looking towards the All Blacks and beyond.
They did feature in the Nations Championship, with Hanekom starting against England and Louw coming off the bench against Scotland, but they will be itching for more time on the field and the Argentina encounter therefore presents a huge opportunity.