Springboks team: Winners and losers as Rassie Erasmus ‘removes the lab coat’ and rewards form the ‘old-fashioned way’
Springboks fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and an inset of head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Following the announcement of Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks team to face Argentina at Kings Park in Durban, here are our winners and losers.
The penultimate round of the Rugby Championship sees the Boks face off against Los Pumas, with all four teams boasting two wins and two defeats.
For the clash with the Argentines, Erasmus has made minimal changes, mostly enforced, as he rewards those who slaughtered the All Blacks in their own backyard.
So without further ado, here are our winners and losers.
Winners
Damian Willemse
The best of the lot, and there was a lot of good in Wellington, is duly rewarded with back-to-back starts. Damian Willemse shook off the shackles of low confidence and delivered arguably his greatest-ever performances in the Green and Gold jersey.
He started at inside centre against South Africa’s greatest rival and shifted to full-back to cover for Aphelele Fassi’s injury and hardly missed a beat as he masterminded the All Blacks’ greatest demise.
Erasmus has tinkered and tampered with his team throughout this year and last, but the wily head coach knows when to take the lab coat off, stop the experiments and reward performances the old-fashioned way.
Eben Etzebeth
He would have loved to have had another crack at the All Blacks in Wellington, but just like an overzealous Labrador, sometimes you have to shorten the leash, and that’s precisely what the Bok coaching staff opted to do, resting their prized asset so he could be unleashed on home soil against an imposing Los Pumas pack.
Eben Etzebeth probably still has the tank to play every single game for the Springboks in a year, but the squad depth, particularly in the second-row, means that he doesn’t have to and doesn’t run the risk of burnout.
But he is back this week, and is bound to play a crucial role in the Green and Gold pack.
Morne van den Berg
Injury creates opportunity for Morne van den Berg as he replaces the excellent Grant Williams on the bench, with the latter nursing a niggle.
Sometimes it takes a teammate being unavailable to earn a shot, but the Lions number nine is more than deserving of another opportunity after standout performances in July.
Ethan Hooker
It’s rare to see such a young player look so tailor-made for international rugby and unfazed by the occasion. Ethan Hooker was simply mesmerising as he glided across the pitch at Sky Stadium in Wellington, in what was his first Test start for his country. He too produced a fantastic all-round shift, including an outrageous run from his own half that led to a try and gets the chance to back up that performance on his home turf.
Hooker was arguably the form South African back player in the United Rugby Championship last year, despite the Sharks’ indifferent form, and is starting to reproduce those kinds of performances at the highest level.
Again, Erasmus rarely sticks with a settled run-on team outside of the World Cup, but the comprehensive nature of the result last week left him with little choice.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was forced off the pitch early on in Wellington, which threatened his involvement in the final two weeks of the Rugby Championship. Instead, the 23-year-old has been given another shot in the starting line-up, in his preferred position.
There must have been a temptation from Erasmus and co. to entrust the talented rookie to fill Fassi’s void at full-back with Manie Libbok or Handre Pollard replacing him at number 10, but that did not come to fruition.
It’s just another indication of the staff empowering the youth and showing that they trust them to shine at the highest level, even in crunch matches like this weekend.
Youth
For a second week in a row, the Springboks are giving youth the chance to shine, and this time on home soil. Sure, the additions of Etzebeth and Damian de Allende inflate the Test cap tallies, but both those alternations were enforced.
Erasmus has repeatedly expressed the need to blood in the youth and get them playing crunch matches, and he is proving those comments weren’t just paying lip service.
Boan Venter
Seemingly, the only change that is not injury-enforced sees Boan Venter replace fellow rookie front-rower Marnus van der Merwe amongst the replacements. His inclusion in the matchday 23 means that Jan-Hendrik Wessels will now be tasked with providing impact and cover for starting hooker Malcolm Marx.
Venter was a shock call-up to the squad in July but has not let the side down whenever he has got the opportunity, proving his selection to be an inspired one by scrum coach Daan Human and Erasmus.
Injuries have resulted in his call-up, but once the opportunity arose, he snatched it with both hands.
Losers
Grant Williams
He was put under the pump at Eden Park with the All Blacks’ breakdown causing all kinds of havoc for the half-back, but he hit back in style in Wellington with a strong cameo at number nine before brilliantly finishing the game on the wing, making an audacious try-saving tackle on Will Jordan.
Williams is quickly becoming one of the premier half-backs in world rugby, but the Boks will be without his services this weekend due to a niggle, and after missing a large chunk of the Sharks’ season because of an injury, he will hope that this is nothing too serious.
Marnus van der Merwe
While many of his teammates have been rewarded with back-to-back selections for their efforts in Wellington, Van der Merwe has not. It’s unfortunate for the hooker, but this looks to be a clear rotation change and one targeting Argentina’s scrum.
Venter provides a more out-and-out option at loosehead prop, and while Van der Merwe impressed particularly at the breakdown, Wessels is very much deserving of another crack in the squad.
Experienced stars
There is a good chance that many of the experienced heads will return for the final round of the Rugby Championship in Twickenham next week, and while the players insist that egos are parked at the door, some of the veterans must surely be sweating over their positions in the squad.
A player like Bongi Mbonambi has had minimal playing time this Rugby Championship, while Faf de Klerk is yet to feature since July, with the same true for Makazole Mapimpi.
Springboks coach explains why Willie le Roux has rejoined the squad ahead of Argentina Tests
Injured duo
We have repeatedly covered just how unlucky Jean-Luc du Preez is, but it is worth bringing up the setbacks to Fassi and Lood de Jager, who missed the final two rounds of the competition through injury. The pair are equally unfortunate, with the former enjoying a real uptick in form before sustaining a nasty-looking ankle injury in the thumping victory over the All Blacks. Fassi looked to be nailing down a regular spot in the full-back jumper despite the stiff competition from the likes of Willie le Roux and Willemse.
As for De Jager, he just can’t catch a break. He missed the 2023 Rugby World Cup due to a career-threatening illness, recovered in time to play out the season in Japan, but injury struck, ruling him out for the entire 2024 international season. The 32-year-old showed his value upon his return to the Green and Gold jumper, particularly at lineout time, and was really building a fine run of matches before the cruelty of the professional sport reared its ugly head yet again. There is no doubting the second-rower’s excellence, and while the Springboks have the depth to cover his absence, as shown with this weekend’s selection, he still leaves a real void.
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