By Lucky Vince Pienaar
Only a week ago, it looked as if the Springboks were going to field the best team in their history, but injury issues have put pressure on the younger players, particularly the forwards.
Even Eben Etzebeth has joined the growing list of rock-solid players who won’t play against the All Blacks on Saturday.
If senior coach Deon Davids is worried about the situation, he certainly didn’t show it during Monday’s press conference.
“Losing senior players creates gaps, but it also creates opportunities for the younger players,” he said.
“We have no doubt that players like Ruan Nortje and Ben-Jason Dixon will stand up to the task.”
The team’s lock position is an obvious critical issue. Days before the test at Emirates Ellis Park, some people suggested that Pieter-Steph du Toit is possibly the best flank in the world, but few believe he is the best lock.
Playing a player away from his strength is always a gamble, and this may be the case with Du Toit – or perhaps it indicates that the coaches are not convinced that the available locks are up to the task at hand.
In truth, Pieter-Steph, the great player that he is, is not Eben Etzebeth. Likewise, Ben-Jason Dixon is different from Pieter-Steph. But then, the Springbok coaches will have taken that into account.
Fortunately, if stability in the tight phases is an issue, it’s as easy as one, two, three. It’s hard to imagine anybody bossing around Nche, Mbonambi, and Malherbe.
Once again, the Boks don’t have an obvious replacement if something happens to fullback Aphelele Fassie. If Pollard has to come on as a replacement for Fassie, Sasha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will have to go to the back. If not, the juggling that will have to go on in the backline is endless. Don’t forget that Willie le Roux brings stability to the back three, which perhaps should have been there to begin with.
Springboks backs: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach,
Forwards: 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Bench: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handre Pollard.
Pictured above: Springboks in training.
Source: Springboks/X
