By Lucky Vince Pienaar
Is the bomb squad still the bomb squad if Rassie Erasmus has gone for only five forwards and three backline players on the bench?
With Eben Etzebeth fully fit, the giant lock comes back into the second row with the number four on his back, and Pieter-Steph du Toit moves back to the flank.
Those are almost the only changes in the forwards, with the front row staying the way it was for last week’s test, and Siya Kolisi, who was a doubtful starter, overcoming his injury and captaining the side from his regular position.
But in the backs, Rassie has mixed it up. It is almost as if he is challenging the All Blacks to prove their worth against a second set of great Springbok backline players, who seem to showcase the depth of the Boks’ backline.
The two biggest surprises are both Handré Pollard and Willie le Roux in the run-on team.
Speaking about Handré Pollard, Schalk Burger said on the Boks Office that he thought Pollard should start rather than come off the bench so “that he can be replaced if required”. Rassie seems to agree, leaving Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu on the bench.
Willie le Roux, brilliant strategist that he is, seemed to be confined largely to the role of mentor, but he is back in the number 15 spot.
Both Pollard and le Roux seem to be obvious targets for the All Blacks, but then, Rassie has never been one to allow players to hide away.
Grant Williams, after his brilliant match on Saturday, is in the starting line-up. Cobus Reinach is out of the team altogether, with Jaden Hendrikse on the bench.
The centres remain unchanged, but Lukhanyo Am is on the bench. Hopefully, Am will be given a full 30 minutes or so to show why he is one of the best centres in the business.
Cheslin Kolbe has moved to the left wing, and Canan Moodie has been given the huge job of replacing the injured Kurt-Lee Arendse. Moodie’s performance last week for the Blue Bulls was not great. One hopes that he will deliver on his massive promise this weekend.
Is the bomb squad still the bomb squad if Rassie has gone for a 5-3 split on the bench? He has always said that the flexibility of key players dictates if the bench can have six or even seven (remember that!) forwards. But don’t expect the five forward replacements, among them Kwagga Smith and Malcolm Marx, to be anything but devastating.
Springboks v All Blacks:
Backs: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Grant Williams
Forwards: 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Impact: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Kwagga Smith, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Lukhanyo Am
South Africa v New Zealand, DHL Stadium, Cape Town, Saturday 5pm.
Pictured above: Springboks taking on New Zealand.
Source: Springboks/X
