Marvin Orie could get a game at Newlands
LOCK Marvin Orie, Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier and Sharks centre could all have a role to play as the Springboks look to mix up now thaty they have clinched the Test series against England.
The third Test is at Newlands on Saturday and the reality is that Bok coach Rassie Erasmus now has the freedom to experiment.
No wonder Erasmus was smiling after the win in front of a packed Bloemfontein stadium ... in complete contrast to England coach Eddie Jones, who is now under severe pressure with England having lost give matches in a row.
The Boks will go into the final game of the series having come from behind twice to win – first in Joburg when they triumphed 42-39 after being 3-24 down early on in the first half and then here on Saturday when they came back from being 12-0 down to win 23-12. It has given Erasmus licence to shake things up a bit this weekend. “It’s nice to have the series wrapped up. “We’re certainly going to try to win the series 3-0, but we can now also try a few things this weekend,” said the Bok boss.
“We’ll look at some different guys; see how they go in a pressure situation, under different circumstances.”
Erasmus is almost certain to hand veteran hooker Schalk Brits a run at his former home ground, even if only from the bench, which would allow the 37-year-old to bow out in style. With Bongi Mbonambi having performed so strongly in the first two Tests and fit-again Malcolm Marx set for a return in the Rugby Championship, this may well be Brits’ last involvement with the Boks.
Lions lock Marvin Orie could also get a look-in this week, perhaps coming into the mix in place of provincial team-mate Franco Mostert, who has played a lot of rugby this year, while Dan du Preez could also come into the selection frame.
Among the backs, Embrose Papier might be brought in, while in the midfield Andre Esterhuizen is almost certain to get a start at 12 and there could even be a change at outside centre, too, with Jesse Kriel playing in place of Lukhanyo Am, who is believed to be nursing a niggle.
Erasmus again lauded his team’s character and composure to come back from being 12-0 down early on in the second Test in Bloemfontein. He made special mention of his captain and birthday boy on the day Siya Kolisi and 100-cap veteran Tendai Mtawarira, but also the influence of his overseas-based men in the team.
“It was a big day for Siya and Beast ... and they both performed brilliantly. There’s relief in the squad the series is won, but next week will again be a massive one.
“But credit must again go to a guy like Duane (Vermeulen, one of the stars of the Test), and also Willie (le Roux) ... I knew they’d bring experience to the team. They also brought a lot of steadiness to things.
“Duane (who was named man of the match) especially is playing very accurate rugby, he’s fit and sharp and running great lines. He’s strong over the ball and has worked closely with Siya in making the right decisions. We’re blessed to have guys like him that are committed to the cause.”
Erasmus was also full of praise for livewire scrumhalf Faf de Klerk. “You must allow the characters in a team to be characters ... you don’t want the same sizes and personalities; individuality is important in rugby, and Faf brings something different to the party. We’re never going to box people in.”
While the Boks have won back-toback Tests and twice been the better team against Jones’ England, there are still plenty of areas that need attention; the defence out wide being one of them. BRITAIN’S unforgiving rugby media have launched into England coach Eddie Jones after his side suffered a fifth successive Test loss with a 23-12 series-losing defeat to the Springboks in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Jones’ side raced to a quick 12-0 lead before the Boks got into the game and over-ran them for the second successive week following a similar come-from-behind 42-39 victory in Johannesburg.
The defeat was the sixth overall for England, who also lost to the Barbarians before they left for South Africa, and prior to this season had been riding an unprecedented run of success.
“England ... find themselves in a state of freefall, with questions mounting about how can they arrest it,” Gavin Mairs wrote in the Daily Telegraph. “The series defeat, on the back of their fifth-place finish in the Six Nations, has stripped Eddie Jones’ side of the status of genuine contenders for next year’s World Cup.
“A third defeat against the Springboks in Cape Town next Saturday, with autumn Tests against the Springboks and New Zealand to come at Twickenham, would see Jones’ position come under fierce scrutiny. It would also leave the Rugby Football Union ... with the difficult decision of either backing Jones a year out from the World Cup with the hope that there is still time to turn the side’s fortunes around or make a change in the same year that they extended his contract to 2021.”
Jones, was initially lauded when he took the job after England were knocked out of the 2015 World Cup in the pool phase and led them to 18 successive wins. Three losses in the Six Nations this year, despite high hopes of becoming the first side to win three successive titles since it expanded in 2000, however, have seen the team slip to fourth in the world.
“One hundred and 26 days have now elapsed since England last won a game of Test rugby and the long wait goes on,” Rob Kitson wrote in The Guardian.
“Whatever magic dust Jones scattered earlier in his tenure has long since disappeared into the ether.
“The postmortem will become even messier if England are flattened again at Newlands, raising fresh doubts about the effectiveness of Jones’ training methods and whether or not he can drag things back between now and the World Cup.” – Reuters