Springboks team: Five takeaways as Rassie Erasmus faces ‘either-or conundrum’ while boss ‘acts’ on Bomb Squad issues
Rassie Erasmus (left) with an inset of Siya Kolisi (right)
Following confirmation of the Springboks’ 23-man squad for Test Two against the All Blacks, here are our five key takeaways from Rassie Erasmus’ selection.
The either-or conundrum
The obvious talking point out of the Springboks’ selection comes in the back-row, with Erasmus yet to make a call between Siya Kolisi or Paul de Villiers. The obvious caveat to this is that Kolisi is still making his return to action from a hamstring injury and De Villiers has been the incumbent replacement this year, but that’s not actually the interesting point about this call.
It’s the fact it’s either or. One will start, the other will not feature in the 23.
Look, I could have egg on my face come Friday if Erasmus decides that one of them will start and the other shifts over to the bench in place of either Lood de Jager, Andre Esterhuizen or Cameron Hanekom; but at the time of writing it seems like we will see either Kolisi or De Villiers in the 23 and the other will be left in the stands.
You can make a case for both men to start as well, which makes it all the more intriguing. Kolisi’s credentials speak for themselves; he’s the leader of this side and has been for the past eight years, leading them to back-to-back World Cups, and that was arguably something that was missing in their 33-16 defeat last time out. Around his obvious leadership stuff, Kolisi is still very much among the best back-rowers in the world, and has given the Boks some lovely balance in that department for years now.
But De Villiers is the up-and-coming option and seems readymade to be Kolisi’s long-term replacement. He’s taken to Test rugby like a duck to water, even improving on his already strong club form from last season in the process, and you feel he just needs a string of games to really get embedded at this level. De Villiers also offers something slightly different to Kolisi, particularly in the carry, and that seems to work really well alongside both Pieter Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese.
On the face of it, this is just a sign that Kolisi might not be as ready to go as first thought. But when you dig into it, it’s potentially a sign of Erasmus’ thinking at openside. It’s a real either-or conundrum for the head coach; he’s bought himself a bit of thinking time by naming both, but at some point in the next few days, he needs to find the answer.
Captain, Centurion, Legend
A word for Pieter-Steph du Toit, who will win his 100th Test cap this weekend against the All Blacks. The best compliment he can probably be paid is that it felt like he was already on 100 caps; he has been that much of an ever-present in the Boks side over the past few years.
What Du Toit has done in the Test game is nothing short of remarkable. A two-time World Player of the Year, a double World Cup winner and someone who has not only set the tone for world-class blindside flanking but arguably changed the position as a whole, with teams across the game looking to find their own version of him.
His achievement has also drawn high praise from his boss: “Pieter-Steph and Ox (Nche, who brings up his 50th Test cap this weekend) have been pillars of strength for us on and off the field, and they both deserve these accolades,” said Erasmus.
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“It is a remarkable achievement to play 100 Test matches, and for Pieter-Steph to deliver week in and week out the way he has over the years is incredible.
Mr Clutch
Fly-half is always a point of discussion with the Springboks, given the talent they have in that department, but this feels a pretty strong call from Erasmus as Mr Clutch himself, Handre Pollard, makes the run-on group.
Pollard has so often been the Boks’ trump card in big games; the Rugby World Cup semi-final against England, the subsequent final against the All Blacks, their opponents this weekend, spring to mind, but there are numerous examples of this. He is the ultimate big game player, and this feels the right time to bring him back in.
For the first time in what feels like forever, the Boks come into this Test needing a response and needing a performance. They need someone who is the master of the big game. They need Pollard.
The obvious question regarding his selection is if he suits this new ‘Tony-ball’ system. It has almost been custom-made to suit the more attack-minded and flashier play of either Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu or Manie Libbok rather than Pollard’s more tactical approach; but again, the manner in which the Boks lost on Saturday could see them just calm everything down a touch and look to grind the All Blacks into submission.
You can see the logic behind this call, and if Pollard can get them over the line, he could once again position himself as the leading fly-half.
Trust the process
While there are some changes, there aren’t as many as some people potentially expected. Rassie is by no means a reactive coach, but is not shy to rotate his squad around and figure out new or different combinations between Tests, but this squad seems fairly settled.
Within his starting XV, only Cheslin Kolbe and Grant Williams have been removed entirely from the 23-man group, while Feinberg-Mngomezulu drops to the bench. That could change later in the week, depending on the decision at openside flank between Kolisi and De Villiers.
That suggests that Erasmus, while disappointed in their defeat, still wants to stick with the plan he set out from Test One, and this side is clearly what he feels is best suited for that. The first-half in particular seemed to go to plan, with the Boks leading at the half-time break, but the issue was how quickly it unravelled when the bench, which has usually been when they pull away, came on. That has probably left the head coach thinking his starters warrant another go and warrant a chance to show why they are in his run-on group.
Should they lose again this weekend, though, you could expect to see several changes across his group.
Stable bench
As mentioned above, the bench simply imploded last time out. Yes, the reshuffling of positions, either through sin-binnings or injuries, didn’t help, but still, it didn’t work anywhere near what it has done in the past. But this selection feels a bit more stable.
There is the standard hint of versatility within it, given Deon Fourie and Andre Esterhuizen can cover multiple positions, but there is a bit more method to the madness about these.
You can see a world where both players come on in the back-row, alongside Hanekom, or a world where Fourie comes on at hooker and a world where Esterhuizen comes on at centre. But you can see it, and they all make sense. Around that, it looks like Gerhard Steenekamp will also get a full go of it at loosehead after his brief cameo last time out.
Erasmus has already said he felt it didn’t quite work as he planned last time out, and this selection feels like he’s acted on that.
