Bok selections come into sharp focus

The time has arrived to strike a coherent balance between the old guard and the rookie tyros, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus admitted on Saturday.

Erasmus watched his team complete their on-field pre-Rugby Championship preparations with a commanding 55-10 win over a feisty and combative Georgia in Mbombela Stadium but admitted it is time to sharpen selection focus. Erasmus has been like a trawler in the open ocean casting his net wide in his use of 46 players across four matches this season but with the Rugby Championship looming it is time to go fishing closer to shore.

“I think everyone has the potential to play big Tests for the Springboks it is now a question of how we slowly get them into the team without throwing away a lot of the older players. He cautioned leaning too heavily on the younger players potentially carries as much peril as an over reliance on older, experienced players. “Our challenge now is to get that balance right.”

Erasmus explained it was essential to see the young players operate in a more pressurised environment. “We want to build depth and we want to get to know the players’ character. See the personalities and how they take criticism. How they handle a tough training session. How they perform against a team that is disrupting, like Italy in the first Test. Today’s game we had a disruptive team with a lot of physicality,” he said on Saturday evening.

“I think we learnt enough from each player. Some guys didn't get a lot of opportunity because we know a lot about them already.

“We are three deep in every position. There will be a few men who will be disappointed but that will only be for the Australia games when we name 36 players.

“We will leave out a few players. There isn’t time to muck around with the team. We will have to be on the ball [in selection],” said Erasmus.

While the Boks are unlikely to press what Erasmus perceives to be his best 23 against Australia in August he will certainly ramp up game time for those he believes may still be short of a gallop ahead of the two away Tests against New Zealand.

The coach has created some healthy competition. The furnace of Test rugby has largely denied Damian Willemse over the last year but in Aphelele Fassi the Boks have a fullback who is tugging hard at the leash.

Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel and Cheslin Kolbe are likely to fill positions 11 to 14 in Auckland but Canan Moodie is building a compelling case for involvement in matches of great consequence. André Esterhuizen is likely to see game time against the Wallabies.

Flyhalf will be a position that will generate much interest in the Rugby Championship. Manie Libbok has proven himself as the pivot most likely to ignite the Springbok backline. Critics will continue to question his goal kicking, while Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu did little to rid himself of similar questions in Mbombela. He missed four out of five before being replaced by the ever steady Handré Pollard, who has emerged as a deeply reassuring insurance policy in the tight, tense moments in the matches that really matter.

Erasmus explained Feinberg-Mngomezulu suffered a hip pointer injury in the warm-up to the game against Georgia.

“We weren’t quite sure if we should push him through the game, but he wanted to play but that’s not an excuse for the way he kicked at poles,” the coach said. “He ran it out and we like guys that try things and not just play safe and he’s certainly not one of the guys that made the most errors.”

Feinberg-Mngomezulu has been erratic thus far this season for the Boks and there will be demand for greater consistency from such a forceful game driver.

Faf de Klerk sparkled when he made it onto the field against Georgia but by then Grant Williams reminded of his credentials as a potential starter at scrumhalf. He may well occupy the inside lane. Who will wear the Bok No 9 jersey in New Zealand will be another contentious point with Jaden Hendrikse sent back to the Sharks but likely to feature in the Rugby Championship.

The vastly experienced Cobus Reinach continues to add cut and thrust to the Bok cause.

Jasper Wiese’s four-match ban for a headbutt against Italy has made back-of-the-scrum selection as straight forward as the figure of eight. Wiese will only be eligible once the Springboks play the All Blacks in the second of their Tests in New Zealand. Wiese’s brother, Cobus, was pressed into action against Georgia, though his long term prospects in that position is likely to come with a “stopgap” tag.

“With a guy like Cobus we wanted to make sure he can cover seven and eight,” said Erasmus. “A guy like Elrigh [Louw] used to do that for us. Ben-Jason [Dixon] used to cover seven for us. Kwagga [Smith] is an out and out eight. He was very busy when he came on. We learnt a lot from Cobus today. He learnt a lot. He is definitely not Jasper yet. There are areas in which a guy like Evan [Roos] still tops him. It was his first Test match at 8 and I thought he was pretty solid.”

Pieter-Steph du Toit is building the game minutes that should restore his engine to full purr against New Zealand, while Siya Kolisi also needs more exposure to bring him up to Rugby Championship speed.

Ruan Nortjé’s towering performance against Georgia makes him a genuine contender for more action against Australia. However, Lood de Jager also needs more minutes to make him battle ready for the challenge the Boks will face in New Zealand.

Up front the Boks have lost considerable experience with Frans Malherbe’s injury and Steven Kitshoff’s retirement. Ox Nché and Wilco Louw are the likely starters with Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Vincent Koch forming part of the cavalry.

Bongi Mbonambi and Malcolm Marx remain the hard to displace hookers.

Erasmus explained some heads may drop on Tuesday but a ticket to New Zealand will remain achievable.

“We’ll name 36 guys on Tuesday for the Australia series and within that squad there’ll be one or two guys that we experiment with, but the bulk of that squad will be experienced players who are suited to the way we want to play.”