Opinions from the frontline

Thando Manana and Bob Norris pull no punches in their weekly columns

The Springboks are still riding high from their shock defeat of the All Blacks but one swallow does not make a summer.

We need to be constantly evaluating our progress ahead of the fast approaching Japan World Cup next year.

That’s why I feel eighthman Sikhumbuzo Notshe’s inclusion into the starting Springbok squad for Saturday’s Test against the Wallabies in Port Elizabeth is probably two years too late.

Notshe was ready for a starting Bok berth as far back as the Ireland series in 2016. He eventually got his debut off the bench against Wales in Washington and added some cameo appearances in the England series.

His time to show his wares has long been coming. But Allister Coetzee, who brought him in at the Stormers, gave him somewhat of a cold shoulder at Springbok level at a time when he was one of the dominant backrowers in the country. Rassie Erasmus seems ready to do the opposite.

Notshe is a different kind of No 8 to Warren Whiteley and Duane Vermeulen.

He has pace for a loose forward, and ball skills. Neil Powell recognised these traits when he called Notshe up to the Blitzboks squad for the Australasian leg of the Sevens circuit earlier this year.

A lot has been said about Notshe missing the “grunt” that Vermeulen possesses, but it is something I feel he can develop as he accustoms to Test rugby.

Few can match Vermeulen’s physicality. He matches Whiteley for skills and nimbleness, but what he needs to show are the defensive capabilities that Whiteley showed in recent games.

It remains a big opportunity for Notshe, nonetheless. He needs to cause serious selection confusion for the coach ahead of the grudge clash against the All Blacks in Pretoria.

With a year to go and not too many Tests to tinker with, Notshe is behind on the Test match curriculum.

And considering how injury prone the two incumbents ahead of him are, it is imperative that Notshe shows he can rumble with the best loose-forwards in the world and give the Boks dynamism. His internship is short.

But he won’t be operating alone at the back of the scrum. The balance of the loosetrio is something that must be giving Erasmus sleepless nights at the moment.

The big Pieter-Steph du Toit experiment is not quite bringing the results that Shannon Frizzell and Vaea Fifita – No 5 locks that doubled up well as blindside flankers – have brought to the All Blacks.

Du Toit’s natural place remains at No 5 lock, where he needs to compete with Franco Mostert. Granted, he was one of the top tacklers against the All Blacks in Wellington but he could have made the same impact at lock.

His stay at No 7 has forced the skipper Siya Kolisi to play away from his favoured position and occupy the openside.

The result of that means we are missing a fetcher. And I don’t recall Richie McCaw, the former All Blacks skipper, getting moved around in the back row, no matter which players had better form.

The composition of your loose-trio is such that you need a genuine No 6 that plays to the ball, a natural tear-away No 7 (in the ilk of Juan Smith) and a No8 that links between the backline and the forwards and can start play from the back of the scrum, like England’s Billy Vunipola.

At the moment we have players that are surviving on playing with “heart”.

These are all good elements to have, but rugby is won by the astute, smart and technically aware. If South Africa had a full complement of a six, seven and eight, and the depth for each, we’d be a more dangerous prospect to face.

My ideal World Cup scenario would be to have Vermeulen, Kolisi and the returning Marcell Coetzee (or an equal fetcher) as the starting back row combination, with Kwagga Smith bringing some horsepower from the bench.

The time to experiment, though, is fast running out.