Springboks team winners and losers as ‘sensational’ prop returns while ‘electric’ half-backs set to ‘run England off their feet’
Split with Springboks Wilco Louw, Manie Libbok and Willie le Roux.
Following Rassie Erasmus’ matchday squad selection ahead of the Springboks’ clash with England at Twickenham, here are our winners and losers.
The veteran coach has made 12 changes to his side from the one that beat Scotland, bringing back the World Cup-littered core of his group. Erasmus has set up for a fast-running game to counter England’s pragmatism.
So without further ado, here are our winners and losers from the Springboks matchday 23 to face England at Allianz Stadium this weekend.
Winners
Wilco Louw
Who saw that coming after Thomas du Toit’s commanding effort at Murrayfield? While it may be a surprise it is well deserved. Louw has been sensational for the Bulls for quite some time now and many would argue he should have been involved more with the Boks but such is the depth of South Africa at tighthead.
It will be his first Test since 2021 and the England players will know him reasonably well from his time in the Premiership with Harlequins. Expect a big scrummaging effort from the Pretoria man.
RG Snyman
The hulking second-row gets a fairly rare start with most of his time in green and gold coming in the increasingly infamous Bomb Squad.
Snyman is a massive asset with ball in hand thanks to his long rangy arms that often get free in the tackle bringing the offload into play. Other than that he offers the typical physical threat but the biggest Test for him at the weekend is to run the line-out which was NOT good at all last time out.
Any team in the world would happily take the Leinster man so expect ‘The Viking’ to be a big part of proceedings at Twickenham.
Jasper Wiese
The main reason the former Leicester Tiger features on the list is that his selection in this one suggests he is still the first choice number eight for the world champions.
It is rather astute of Erasmus to throw Wiese in this Test as he will carry hard, stand up in defence and most importantly he has vast experience in England. His opponents will know him very well and knowing the character of the number eight he will be eager to get in their faces and impose himself on the game.
Half-backs
Predicting what Erasmus will do with his half-backs is like trying to catch smoke with your hands and this week the electric Grant Williams pairs up with all-out attack Manie Libbok.
This is an obvious statement of intent from the world number one side that they are gearing up to run England off their feet while the Red Rose approach the match with a more pragmatic approach. Oh, how the game has changed since 2019 when these teams used the opposite tactics.
Still, Williams will be a danger around the ruck while Libbok will need to get his goal-kicking right – we already know how well he can marshal Tony Brown’s attack. Big call from Erasmus here but one with a safety net as ‘Iceman’ Handre Pollard will be on hand to close out the game from the tee if required.
Returning stalwarts
The main ‘manne’ have returned. Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel and Pieter-Steph du Toit all charge back into the starting XV, underlining their status as the core of the world champions’ first-choice side.
All of the above-mentioned players are superstars in their own right and will be at the heart of what the Springboks are looking to achieve against England. The septet will undoubtedly have a strong influence on the result.
Rassie Erasmus
It seems like the doctor features as a winner in every feature we do on South Africa but how can he not? Erasmus’ line-up features a whopping 12 changes from the side that beat Scotland by 17 points and it is NOTABLY stronger.
This has not happened by mistake, instead, it has been meticulously crafted by one of rugby’s greatest minds through expert player and squad management. It is difficult not to admire Erasmus’ approach to building depth at the highest level.
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Losers
Thomas du Toit
The biggest loser of the week. When the prolific prop cantered over the line to score against Scotland few would have expected him to lose out to Louw this week. Du Toit has patiently waited his turn and we thought this was his chance to kick on and push for a claim to Frans Malherbe’s throne, but much like many of the losers he is just a victim of depth.
Brutally unlucky but the Bath man is a consummate professional and would have been key in the preparation to this one especially given his local knowledge.
Marco van Staden
The openside was never going to start but he would have loved to come off the bench at Twickenham. However, it was not to be with Elrigh Louw getting the spot on the pine in a standard 5-3 split, indicating Erasmus is more focused on the collision area than the breakdown against England.
Canan Moodie
We have often referred to the Bulls man as a generational talent and while he truly is, how does one get ahead of the hot-stepping duo of Kolbe and Arendse?
Moodie would love to be part of big Tests like this and he has thrived in past when given the chance but as we have already mentioned, Erasmus is a master man-manager and no doubt he has a roadmap for the prodigy lined up.
Makazole Mapimpi
Pretty much the same as Moodie in the sense of how one gets ahead of the incumbent wings. Mapimpi is playing legend and a prolific try scorer with one of the best try-scoring rates in Springboks history, however, all he is involved in this week is preparation.
It is not unexpected to see Mapimpi miss out but perhaps it hurts a bit more with the feeling from inside the camp suggesting his time on the Test scene is soon to be over.
Willie le Roux
Another player in the twilight of his career is the Bulls full-back who produced some wonderful moments last time out including that through ball style chip to Mapimpi which led to a great try. However, we couldn’t see Le Roux being picked ahead of the red-hot Aphelele Fassi especially given the Shark’s aerial prowess, knowing that England will kick on South Africa all game long.
The veteran is on 98 caps and his exclusion means he is set to reach a century at home in front of South African fans, showcasing the more romantic side to Erasmus’ man management.
READ MORE: How to watch England v Springboks at Twickenham: TV channel, live stream, kick-off time
