Springboks team: Five takeaways as Rassie Erasmus ‘doubles down’ on Tony-ball while Manie Libbok handed ‘big chance’
Cheslin Kolbe (left) and Manie Libbok (right) feature in the Springboks' 23-man squad to face England this weekend.
Following confirmation of the Springboks’ 23-man squad to face England at Ellis Park on Saturday, here are our five key takeaways from Rassie Erasmus’ selection.
Number 10
This was always going to be a topic of discussion in the absence of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, but it seems Erasmus is putting his eggs very much in the Manie Libbok-shaped basket instead of Handre Pollard.
And it’s a rather big call to make.
Pollard has been so reliable for the Boks for such a long time and, crucially, has often had his best Test outings against England – just look at the World Cup semi-final in 2023 or the World Cup final in 2019 – and that felt like it could have seen him back in the starting side.
In some ways, though, it also makes sense to start Libbok. Of the pair, he is closer in style to Feinberg-Mngomezulu than Pollard and is arguably more suited to the ‘Tony-ball’ attack the Boks want to play. As we’ve seen across his time at Test level, Libbok is a very ‘play what you see’ fly-half, trying to inject tempo into his side’s play whenever possible and looking to take a more free-flowing approach, and that is exactly what this new system calls out for.
But there is also no forgetting just how big a chance this is now for Libbok. His last start in the Green and Gold jersey came in last year’s surprise defeat to the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship and has subsequently been viewed more as the back-up option on the bench or used in a similar way to Marcus Smith for England as a versatile option to cover multiple positions if needed.
If he can perform well on an individual basis and get the Boks to victory, he could nail down the shirt for the Nations Championship and potentially even for the Greatest Rivalry tour as well.
Pollard will be breathing down his neck if not, and would be hoping for a shot against Scotland.
Need for speed
As mentioned above, the selection of Libbok is likely done with ‘Tony-ball’ in mind, but the rest of the backline also reflects a desire to play with speed. It’s a properly quick unit.
Grant Williams, Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse are among the zippiest players in their respective positional areas, potentially faster than their probable England counterparts Alex Mitchell, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Cadan Murley, and that’s done with a purpose.
Williams’ speed makes him a genuine threat around the fringes of the ruck, which in turn will pull the England defence that little bit tighter and then create a tiny bit more space in the wide channels. From there, that’s where Libbok comes into the mix, with his eyes-up approach and desire to chuck the ball around likely to allow the wing pair to come into the game more frequently and in better positions to either break, create a chance or score.
Building on that, the centre pairing of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel is also designed to aid this. De Allende’s punch and power in the contact and genuine strike running, alongside Kriel’s timing at the line and ability to inject himself into the attack will just create a little bit more broken play and unstructured field, which is exactly where Libbok thrives and can therefore fire it out to his wide men. Willemse’s ball-playing skills will also allow them to get the ball on a more regular basis.
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Last year was the start of a new era for the Boks. This year is about doubling down on that, and this selection proves just that.
Traditional strengths backed up
While the Boks’ backline is very much a sign of the new era, the forward pack is designed for outright brutality.
The tried-and-trusted flank pairing of Pieter Steph du Toit and Siya Kolisi have so often been the defensive leaders for Erasmus’ side, and should serve in that role once again this weekend. England are also likely to select a player in the ilk of Du Toit, which creates a very interesting head-to-head. Jasper Wiese is also among the best ball-carriers in the world when on song, and his inclusion at number eight will only add more intensity to their efforts in the tight.
Lock has been a major headache for Erasmus in the past few weeks, made somewhat worse with the unavailability of Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager for this Test, but even with those issues has selected his favoured pairing from the 2025 Test season in Ruan Nortje and Eben Etzebeth. Like a lot of the pack, they will only add more steel to the Boks’ efforts in the tight and look to take the fight to England.
The front-row is where it gets fun, though. If you were designing a rugby ultimate team and you were building your scrum, you’d probably have these three as your starters. Ox Nche is such an aggressive, attack-minded scrummager and has almost set the standard for looseheads in the modern game, and continues to improve his ball-handling work to link up in attack as well. Thomas du Toit is also coming into this Test in arguably career-best form with Bath, and will know exactly what his opponents will do given his exposure to the PREM. Du Toit also likes to take the fight to the loosehead at scrum time, but is slightly more tactical in that he waits for an opportunity to then go all in. Marx is the glue that holds them together, too, and will only add more strength to this unit.
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Even with all the depth the Boks have up front, this combined unit is probably their strongest possible pack, and that is such a potent weapon.
Cover?
Rassie is no stranger to positional experiments, but he could be forced to think outside of the box if they pick up a couple of knocks this weekend. Yes, the bench is still very strong, but there are a some gaping holes. There is no out-and-out hooker, lock or fly-half.
You can see the thinking behind it, especially with the Boks struggling a touch in the second-row, but should they pick up some bangs along the way then it could create a bit of a makeshift side. Hooker is the easiest of the lot, with both Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Marco van Staden featuring there for club and country in recent times, but they are by no means full-time hookers either. Pieter-Steph du Toit can also move over to lock if needed, as is Wiese after Erasmus said they could put him there, allowing Van Staden, Cameron Hanekom or Andre Esterhuizen to slot onto the flank, while Williams or even Kolbe could cover fly-half if required.
But that’s the caveat there, if required. None of these players are specialists in these key positions, and should the starters in each go down at the same time then it could be a real issue.
Again, with Erasmus constantly pushing the limits of what his team is capable of and willing to test things out, you would probably bank on it all working, but it’s a big risk at the same time.
Milestone men
A word for Kolbe and Willemse, who will win their 50th Test caps this weekend.
The fact I was surprised by this being their 50th cap and not their 100th probably tells a story of its own. They have been among the best performers in this squad for a long, long time now, and like a lot of the players in this group, have set the standard for their positions in the Test game.
They also warranted high praise from Erasmus, who felt their milestone could be added fuel for his squad.
“They have both been stalwarts for us over the years, and as a team we would like to make it a memorable day for them,” he said. “It’s not every day you have two players playing their 50th Test, so that will certainly add to our motivation this week.”
They deserve all the flowers coming their way for glittering Test careers, and this will be a nice moment for the pair of them.
