The starting side who did duty for the Springboks on Saturday as well as one replacement, have all left the Springboks to return to their respective Clubs in France and Japan.
- Johan Goosen returns to Racing Metro in France
- Bryan Habana returns to Toulon
- JP Pietersen returns to the Panasonic Wild Knights
- On the Springbok bench, Gurthrö Steenkamp returns to Toulouse in France
Of course Bakkies Botha has now retired from International Rugby and accordingly also leaves for Toulon, whilst Morné Steyn (who was not used on Tour) returns to Stade Français.
Schalk Burger joins his Japanes Club, Suntory Sungoliath.
This leads us to the burning question as to the composition and changes in the Springbok run-on team and 23-man squad for Saturday’s encounter with Wales, who held a lead over the All Blacks till the 69th minute, this past Saturday, before conceding a blitz of 3 tries, which blew the score against them out of proportion.
Mind you, one more Springbok tourist is also leaving the squad, thus unavailable for selection, namely Seabelo Senatla, who was released to the Springbok Sevens squad (or Blitzbokke as they are affectionately referred to) for the 2 remaining HSBC Sevens World Series Tournaments in 2014… the tournament in Dubai and the one in South Africa the week thereafter.
So, with 8 Springboks and Springbok tourists suddenly unavailable, here are the burning questions:
- Who will do duty on both wings on Saturday?
- Will Willie le Roux be back at fullback or will he be used as a wing on Saturday?
- Will Nizaam Carr’s fast little debut from the bench be enough to promote him to the starting lineup in place of Oupa Mohoje?
- Will Jaco Kriel get a bench opportunity?
- Has Jannie du Plessis recovered sufficiently to do duty at tighthead or will Coenie Oosthuizen and Julian Redelinghuys fullfill that role again after a good weekend’s scrumming for them?
- Will Tendai “Beast Mtawarira regain his loosehead prop spot or will Trevor Nyakane get another starting run at loosehead against Wales?
Fullback:
Logic suggests that Willie le Roux will just slot back into the fullback fold and that he will not needlessly be used as a wing option on Saturday. He provides so much spark from fullback, as again seen on Saturday when he joined from the bench, that doing anything else seems a bit pointless against a good Wales team.
Willie can be ably backed up at fullback by Lwazi Mvovo (who I would pick at left wing to start) or by Pat Lambie should the unexpected occur.
Wings:
Right wing is not a problem, as Cornal Hendricks would just seemlessly replace JP Pietersen. Hendricks has done most of the right wing duties in 2014 in any case… so no major disturbance there. On the left wing the logical choice is Lwazi Mvovo, who as I have already alluded to, could also easily slip into fullback should the need arise in the game. Lwazi has been in great form in 2014 and it would be just reward to see him cap off the year with a final Test flurry against Wales. Cover for both wings and for both centre positions could easily be Damian de Allende, who has not seen any rugby since August 2014, so one assumes he won’t be used in a starting role, due to ring rust!
Centres:
Heck, only one more game to go, so keep the centre combination of Jean de Villiers and Jan Serfontein in tact. They need to show some centre creativity for a change.. and that would have been my instructions to them if I was Heyneke Meyer. All of Handré Pollard, Pat Lambie and Damian de Allende could do duty at centre, if the need arises…. I’m not saying it is ideal, just saying that gap could easily be plugged.
Flyhalf:
Lambie or Pollard… Pollard or Lambie… quite a question! A week before, Pat Lambie outshone Handré Pollard but prior to that and again this past Saturday, it was the exact opposite, with Pollard easily outshining Pat Lambie.
The nett result is a happy result for the Springboks, who now have 2 flyhalfs who are vying equally hard for a starting spot, a rather nice difficulty to be in if you were coach.
What would I do? I would start with Pat Lambie, he has done nothing wrong to drop him, at the same time I would give Handré Pollard more than a cameo as replacement and play him for at least 25 minutes at the end if not even a little more.
Scrumhalf:
Well, Cobus Reinach, warts and all, seems to have surpassed Francois Hougaard… and after them, well there is not much more, is there! So, Reinach would have to start, and Hougaard would have to bench. Rudy Paige who was called up as extra cover could remain as extra cover, in the stands.
Eightman:
There is only one THOR, and that is THORmeulen! Duane Vermeulen must be allowed to cap of his almost flawless season and year, with another start at No 8. Backup for him is now relatively settled as Nizaam Carr could easily fullfill that role. That does not however mean I would put Nizaam on the bench, my explanation follows in the Flankers discussion.
Flankers:
Ah, my favourite topic, my favourite position! Sometimes this is also my biggest bugbear as coaches irritate the living daylights out of me when they do not realize that there is such a huge, massive, monsterous difference in the applications of blindside and openside flankers. More so, both flankers MUST form a very balanced loose trio with their No 8. The loose trio MUST in my opinion consist of a specialized fetcher at openside who plays towards the ball (who has a massively strong upper body and is quick to the breakdowns), a tackling demon and strike running blindside flank and the strike-running man with hands of gold at No 8. The difference in application, for those who have not seriously played the game in a looseforward position is often unfathomable and they look at you as if asking what the heck you are on about, when you explain these nuances.
Ok, explanation out of the way… rant out of the way!
I see no sense in replacing Marcell Coetzee, who has done wonderfully well for the Springboks in the absense of Francois Louw, so for me No 6 Openside (in SA No 6 is the opensider, elsewhere it is No 7) is done and dusted, but I’d like a caveat on that and that would be to place Jaco Kriel on the bench as specialized openside cover (he could cover any of the 3 looseforward positions in anyway). At blindside I would give the “Bearded Wonder” aka the “Osama man” aka Nizaam Carr a full go as a starter against Wales. He has the physical presence and the finesse to deal with it, I have no doubt. The unlucky fellow to lose out for this match, in my book, would be Teboho “Oupa” Mahoje. There would simply not be enough spaces on the bench to include him, although I think he has done very well this year.
I must concede, I am just itching to see how Jaco Kriel goes, if given a proper chance!
Locks:
Old man mountain, Victor Matfield would have to end 2014 on a high, after he never ever thought he would get as much game time as he actually did in 2014. So, at No 5, it is Victor Victorius. Eben Etzebeth is a given at No 4, just hope he has a similar game as against England, 9 days ago. Lood de Jager would be my bench option, well there is’nt really anybody else, is there, now that Bakkies is a goner!
Props:
I would not play Jannie du Plessis, even if he passes a fitness test. He’s been overplayed in 2014, first by Jake White and then fully into International duty. He needs a longer vacation than most, I recon. So, my Tighthead prop starter would be Julian Redelinghuys, who scrummed well and played well against a strong Azzurri front row. He did not get enough game time though, but he did not embarrass, so I would give him at least 60 minutes on Saturday. It’s not going to happen though, as Coenie Oosthuizen will get the nod at Tighthead prop. In addition I would have Ruan Dreyer on the bench and NOT Coenie Oosthuizen, once again it is wishfull thinking on my side, as Julian would most probably be the bench Tighthead prop if Doc Jannie is indeed rested.
At Loosehead prop, “The Trevor” aka “Pumbaa” or Trevor Nyakane had a good game against the immensely strong hair bear, Martin Castrogiovanni, this past Saturday and I see no reson to change that. Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira has also been overplayed in 2014 and I would have him only on the bench, as injury cover.
Hooker:
I know what is going to happen and that is that Bismarck du Plessis will get a start against Wales as part of the rotation policy, with Adriaan Strauss on the bench. I have no problem with that.
Summation and MY Springbok side for Wales:
15 Willie le Roux
14 Cornal Hendricks
13 Jan Serfontein
12 Jean de Villiers (Captain)
11 Lwazi Mvovo
10 Pat Lambie
9 Cobus Reinach
8 Duane Vermeulen
7 Nizaam Carr
6 Marcell Coetzee
5 Victor Matfield (Vice Captain)
4 Eben Etzebeth
3 Julian Redelinghuys
2 Bismarck du Plessis
1 Trevor Nyakane
Replacements:
16 Adriaan Strauss
17 Tendai Mtawarira
18 Ruan Dreyer
19 Lood de Jager
20 Jaco Kriel
21 Francois Hougaard
22 Handré Pollard
23 Damian de Allende
Good article IMO GBS !!
After the Ireland test I mentioned what Heyneke has said about Handre and Pat. For that reason I’ll say that Pollard should play – giving them both 2 starts each on tour. If not Hondo will have the last say in that regard 😛
I agree with the rest of the backline.
If we take a look at the forwards I guess you are correct about the “wishful thinking bit” about Coenie. What concerns me is that Heyneke has stated that Coenie should rather play at tighthead because his neck won’t last at loosehead.
From a technical perspective he is correct BUT Coenie is not of international standard at tighthead (I’m being kind here).
Heyneke should definitely pick Nizaam and I would also love to see Jaco on the bench.
Trevor has done really well and should retain his starting position.
Dat ‘n WP-man nou so met ‘n Bul moet saamstem. 😀
1 @ charlesm:
You played the game at high level, I respect that, you understand the intricasies, the nuances… I am glad you agree with my assessments.
Lastly I trust that Gurthro has had his last game in the Green and Gold jersey. We have enough depth at 1 e.g Schalk v d Merwe as well as the above 2 mentioned.
Going forward Heyneke should really also consider his next best option(s) at lock. Lood isn’t quite there yet but should hopefully improve. I can’t wait for Pieter-Steph to return !!
When Frans Malherbe and Marcel van der Merwe return we should have decent back up at 3 too.
What will the strength of Wales be like? they have 10 foreign players in their squad… who will play and who will miss the game? I suspect they will also be quite understrength.
@ charlesm:
3 Amen Pal.Like your front
row.Lions hooker i.m.o.better than either of incumbents.
Sleep & keep well.
Regards Rye
How is any othersS.A loose forward better than Duane/Marcel,
Schalk or Flo. Individually or in combination.?
Question prompted by comments on 365.
Goodnight Charles
Rye
”
Taulupe Faletau has no doubt Wales can pick themselves up for Saturday’s meeting with South Africa after losing yet again to world champions New Zealand. But injuries and unavailability – particularly in the loosehead prop department – look set to stretch the hosts’ resources.
Bath prop Paul James, plus the Gloucester pair of hooker Richard Hibbard and fly-half James Hook, will return to Aviva Premiership duty as South Africa’s visit falls outside the International Rugby Board’s autumn window.”
Ok so they will miss three players… but surely Leigh Halfpenny as well?
7 @ MacroBok:
Hi MacroBok don’t forget the big one – Northampton’s George North, also Mike Phillips must be going back to France.
@ MacroBok:
centres Jonathan Davies and Jamie Roberts play in France, and so does Luke Charteris and Leigh Halfpenny, not so sure about Dan Lydiate but I think he will play. So Wales could also missing important players, maybe even more so than SA.
@ Bullscot:
Hi Bullscot,
I think North has an exclusion in his contract that allows him to play, though the Saints had to pay a huge fine for allowing him to play outside the test window last year, he may find reprieve in the fact that the english players will also be allowed to play for England outside of the international window.
Lydiate should play from what I gathered, he was released from his Racing Metro contract.
Robberts and Davies will be big losses for them… Mike Phillips will be a big loss to us if he does not play, and I am actually going to miss Nick Mallet not going on his usual ten minute rant when Mike Phillips is discussed. 😆
@ ryecatcher:
Hi Rye – I also rate Robbie Coetzee. It is a pity about his untimely neck injury and subsequent operation.
Pretty good choices, but no mention of Whitely. He works just as hard as both Carr an Vermuelen, and his linking with the back line is brilliant.
IMO, the regulars need a rest and the ideal time to rest them would have been against Italy.
I think that GBS and Charles have it correct. I would be surpised if the team looks different from this:
15 Willie
14 Cornel
13 Jan
12 Jean
11 Mvovo
10 Pollard
9 Reinach
8 Duanne
7 Mohojoe
6 Coetzee
5 Vic
4 Eben
3 Coenie
2 Bismark
1 Beast
Trevor
Ruan
Adriaan
Lood
Nizaam
Pat
Francois
@ Lion4ever:
I am almost sure there was a report in the lead up to the Italy game that Whiteley had a niggle: obviously nothing major otherwise he would have left the touring party.
I agree that Warren is a good link.
I really hope that Heyneke and co had a one on one with all the players especially those on the fringes. They need to know where they are in the Boks’ pecking order and in which areas they need to improve on.
A matter that has been discussed is the size of the touring party. It may not be nice to always watch the games from the stands but IMO the experience of (a young player) being with the Boks is really valuable. The new guys should have learned a lot during the last couple of weeks. When they know in which areas they have to work on they should do just that. I have always maintained that you can’t keep a good man down.
charlesm wrote:
I have always maintained that you can’t keep a good man down.
I like that… Those are the ones we want.
This is hillarious!
10 @ MacroBok:
Hi MacroBok just another example of the way Premiership Rugby works, thought it crazy at the time that Northampton got fined for that, have they changed the rules in the meantime? Otherwise surely he can’t be ‘allowed’ to play, am not aware that he has renewed or changed his contract with Northampton since that time so surely the status quo must be maintained, no hang on USA Rugby and Premiership Rugby were allowed to have a deal where some international players didn’t have to go play for USA this autumn….
charlesm wrote:
Hi charlesm am pretty sure Mr Meyer will have been much happier with the size of his touring party this year than last year.
@ Bullscot:
Hey you are our UK man, I am having a hard time figuring out who is being released, there is conflicting reports.
this is the latest (14 November)
Hibbard will be unavailable for Wales’ last Test of the autumn series against South Africa on 29 November.
The game is outside the International Rugby Board window and teams outside Wales do not have to release players. Only George North of the English-based players will be available for selection.
North negotiated his own personal release for Wales duties when he joined Northampton from Scarlets in April, 2013.
Saints were fined £60,000 by Premiership Rugby in December 2013, after North played for Wales against Australia outside the 2013 autumn window.
However Hibbard, Paul James (Bath) and Bradley Davies (London Wasps) will not be allowed to play for Wales.
The Wales team management have negotiated the release of France-based players Jamie Roberts, Mike Phillips, Luke Charteris and Jonathan Davies for the Springboks match.
@ MacroBok:
Hey mate yeah it is a bit confusing, don’t really have my finger on the pulse of Welsh rugby at moment, too much else on the go here, will try and find out more if I can. Still don’t know why North could play last year but can this time. Interesting to note the release of those France based players I guess it shows how good it can be for national setups to maintain good relations with the other clubs, no surprise that Leigh Halfpenny was not released…
This is a waste of time, trying to get into Rugby World Cup site to see if I can pick up tickets I missed out on first time round. They were meant to go on sale at 10.00 our time so thought I would get their early and been in the online ‘queue’ for about the last 45 minutes with this message staring at me : “Please do not refresh or close this page as you will lose your place in the queue. Thank you for your patience.” – no Thank you for your inefficiency Rugby World Cup
@ Bullscot:
should be couldn’t play last year
@ Bullscot:
The George North thing is confusing, from the article I quoted I gathered that he will be released… because he was released last year, so he is available. “Only George North of the English-based players will be available for selection.”
23 @ MacroBok:
Yes he may have been released by Saints but they were given that big fine, so surely if that may happen again then they wouldn’t release him this time, which makes me wonder whether Premiership Rugby have changed their stance, or do you think that their may be a deal between the parties as to who would actually be handing over the money for any fines (hope that is cryptic enough but not too cryptic). Must dash now have asked the question about who will not be available so will try post answer if get any and time permits rest of today, cheers vir eers
Off Topic:
“Until last year 90% of Pumas played in Europe,” Hourcade told the Midi Olympique.
“The Argentinian franchise which will join Super Rugby in 2016, will therefore change things. The aim is to bring all our internationals back home.
“The rule will be the following: Any player who plays outside Argentina will not be able to wear the Puma jersey.
“Argentina will follow the Australian and New Zealand policy.
“The players are free to choose between the money and the jersey.”
@ Angostura:
So in other words they will play in SR and the RC as Argentina?
(Fitness permitting,) I think this will be HM’s Bok team vs Wales:
15 Willie le Roux
14 Cornal Hendricks
13 Jan Serfontein
12 Jean de Villiers
11 Lwazi Mvovo
10 Handré Pollard
9 Francois Hougarrd
8 Duane Vermeulen
7 Teboho Mohoje
6 Marcell Coetzee
5 Victor Matfield
4 Eben Etzebeth
3 Jannie du Plessis
2 Bismarck du Plessis
1 Tendai Mtwarira
Replacements:
16 Trevor Nyakane
17 Adriaan Strauss
18 Coenie Oosthuizen
19 Lood de Jager
20 Nizaam Carr
21 Cobus Reinach
22 Patrick Lambie
23 Damian de Allende
{I think a Pride of Lions will miss out again}
25 @ Angostura:
You would think a sensible approach be taken with that, not applied straight away once they get into Super rugby but gradually over a few seasons. What if some of the European based players are already tied in contracts which take them beyond the start of Super Rugby 2016? I can see from their point of view the potential long term benefits of this, but do they have the financial resources to match or even come anywhere near what the players are getting in Europe, just hope for them that they don’t find that more players chose the money over the jersey and Argentina rugby ends up worse off. Think they may have been influenced by New Zealand’s approach to this, wouldn’t surprise as they have had Mr Henry helping them in the past, only thing is there is a big difference in quality of rugby between the countries.
MacroBok wrote:
Oh no am sure the marketing gurus won’t miss out on an opportunity, surely there will be some twist on their name for Super Rugby, maybe more along the lines of Blue Bulls/Bulls rather than our friends in the Cape who have quite a different identity between Super rugby and any other competition
@ Bullscot:
Yep I also find it hard to believe… who would sacrifice a possible career by going to play for 1 team the one team everyone in your country needs to play for, it creates a serious bottleneck.
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