Brits back for Boks
Coach makes left-field selection of ‘retired’ former Saracens hooker
WINNING the current series against England is a massive priority for Rassie Erasmus, but if he can do it with a selection eye on the 2019 World Cup, that will be first prize.
The Springbok coach said as much yesterday in Bloemfontein when he pointed out that he needs to grow his base of players worthy of starting for the Boks and this would tie in with certain players needing to be rested of long Super Rugby campaigns.
Also, Erasmus wants to grow in the intellectual capital in the squad and to this end he yesterday announced out of left field that veteran Schalk Brits had joined the squad. The 37-year-old hooker had recently retired from the game after 11 hugely successful seasons with Saracens and was in the stands last Saturday as a fan – the next day he was suddenly in the Bok squad.
“Look, it’s tempting to stick with the same guys (that played last weekend), to give us our best chance of winning on Saturday,” said Erasmus. “But, we also have to try a few things. We only have 16 matches left until the World Cup, and you don’t want to be trying things against New Zealand and Australia and Argentina away.
“We’ll take things one week at a time, but there will be two or three subtle changes, nothing major. We have to see how certain guys perform.”
The Bok boss said the exciting Thomas du Toit, who featured against Wales in Washington and from off the bench last weekend, would be considered as a replacement for the tired Wilco Louw, while there could be further changes in the second row, back row and in midfield.
“It’s definitely tempting to bring Thomas in. Just look at the number of minutes Wilco has played this season, at the Stormers and the Boks, look at where he has travelled to with the Stormers, last week to Washington and back, and then starting last weekend. He’s played over a thousand minutes this season.
“He is a little punch-drunk right now,” said the Bok coach.
The other tighthead in the squad is the experienced Frans Malherbe, and he and Du Toit are likely to be involved, with Louw getting a break.
Erasmus also intimated that he might give another weary player, Jean-luc du Preez a rest, which would give him a chance to take a closer look at Pieter-Steph du Toit. Du Toit could also swop with Franco Mostert in the second row. Mostert has played non-stop for the Lions in Super Rugby.
After the Wales match in Washington, Erasmus enthused about the performance of Andre Esterhuizen, and there is a good chance that the coach will take a closer look at the Sharks centre at Test level on Saturday, with Damian de Allende playing off the bench.
There could also be changes on the bench, with Erasmus keen to see as many of his squad members in action over the course of the series.
Meanwhile, Brits said that he was in Spain last week before going to Johannesburg with British friends to watch the game.
“It was the first time I’d ever watched the Boks as a fan in the stands. And what a game,” he said from the Bok team hotel in Bloem.
“I had a few holiday plans for this week and next week, too, but those will have to wait now,” he added.
Erasmus knows Brits well from the latter’s stint with the Stormers when Erasmus was the coach and wants him to involved on more than one level.
“He’ll definitely be considered for the match 23 in the next two games,” Erasmus said. “The whole squad knows where they stand. We have to try a few things, and it’s important we learn from each other. Schalk is not here to fill a coaching role only, but to be considered to play at the right time.”
“We wanted Bismarck du Plessis here, but that didn’t work out, but now the guys in the squad can learn from Schalk, rub shoulders with him; pick up things about the smaller aspects of hooker play. He’s played in different conditions and in different countries, just like Faf de Klerk, Duane Vermeulen and Willie le Roux. I know what Schalk can bring to the squad.” SOUTH African rugby fans know Eddie Jones better than most opposition coaches. The Australian was part of Jake White’s World Cup-winning coaching team, and he was even briefly hired as a Stormers coach, before jumping ship to the England post.
The move was well justified, as Jones swopped Newlands for Pennyhill Park, in Surrey. His first year in charge of England, in 2016, resulted in a 100% win ratio, including an historic three-match whitewash over his native Australia right there in the Land Down Under.
Last year was almost equally as good, as England lost just one game against Ireland in the Six Nations. But 2018 saw a turning of the tides. England have lost five games in a row – which includes a Barbarian match.
The pressure is now squarely on England and their coach, as the British media continues to crucify Jones and some of their players. However, this attack on the national side seems a little harsh, when put in perspective.
Under Jones’s tenure, the English have won 25 games and lost six. They had a winning streak of 17 matches and picked up some historic accolades in Australia and in the Six Nations. However, this one poor patch of form has the English public up in arms.
To put things in perspective, Allister Coetzee won 11 matches in his tenure of 25 games before the axe finally fell. Coetzee struggled for a number of reasons, many out of his control.
Jones, on the other hand, has only recently struggled, and it is his former strengths that are starting to be picked apart. In the English media, he is being questioned on his selection policies, such as selecting Nick Isiekwe only to humiliate the 20-year-old by hooking him off the park after 36 minutes.
His infamous – and effective – autocratic style is also being called into question because it seems to be having a counterproductive effect on the team.
It’s not that England are suddenly a bad team, or that Jones has run them into the ground – they have simply hit a rough patch. The loss to the Barbarians in a high-scoring affair was roundly criticised, and to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against the Boks must have been hugely frustrating for the English to endure.
There is still redemption on the cards, however. England are not out of it, but they do have their backs against the wall – not always a bad thing.
One thing is for sure, the only way is up for the English, and with the pressure being all over them, and the praise all on the Boks, there is every chance of a dramatic upset to play out in Bloemfontein. It really is up to England to lead their own fightback because they have the talent and the ability.
But it is also up to the Boks to take the positives from Johannesburg and turn it up a notch because there is still plenty of room for improvement.