SA need top-class blindside flanker

He doesn’t want to blood a player at the World Cup

Corne Krige

Former Springbok captain

● When New Zealand decided to rest blindside flanker Liam Squire, his Tongan-born Highlanders teammate Shannon Frizzell ensured he wasn’t missed.

Such is the depth in their No 6 jumper (No 7 in SA), a Test-class loose forward like Vaea Fifita has to be content with Mitre 10 Cup duty and Steven Luatua and Jerome Kaino have moved overseas.

SA rugby doesn’t have that kind of luxury in depth and the blindside flank position is important in a gain-line battle.

The ceding of this facet of the game invariably puts a team on the back foot, which has been the case for the Springboks, who have missed Jean-Luc du Preez and Duane Vermeulen.

Former Springbok captain Corne Krige, an openside flanker, knows what is needed to win a gain-line battle.

It is an area where he feels the Boks haven’t distinguished themselves despite their captain Siya Kolisi’s best efforts when deployed in the No 7 jersey.

“At times it’s been good and at times it hasn’t because we’ve been figured out. When we get quick ball with the big runners, we’ve been dangerous when we’ve got over the advantage line. Teams, though, have found a way, so we need to work on different plans to be smarter against other teams,” Krige said.

“It’s a good thing that Siya Kolisi is an excellent player because he can adapt, but you need to have specific roles for specific guys to thrive in those positions. They can grow in confidence when they’re deployed in those positions and understand what needs to be done. Siya’s done well but making him an allrounder is not ideal but the absence of Duane Vermeulen hasn’t made it easy.”

Krige said his former Bok teammate and current coach Rassie Erasmus finds himself in a difficult position of not being able to experiment because of results.

Krige said the deployment of locks like Pieter-Steph du Toit and Franco Mostert are plaster jobs despite their hard work.

“Pieter Steph du Toit plays well in the role and often gives his best when given the chance but when you look at him as a longterm prospect, he’s a lock more than a flanker from a long-term perspective. There are other players who can fill that void successfully then you have some players who are injured,” Krige said.

“It’s all about the experience right now and that’s what Rassie is trying to gain at the moment. He’s trying to get everyone who’s good enough to play in the position to get a run so when the World Cup comes around, he doesn’t want a case of having to blood a player at the World Cup. Then again, it’s much easier to experiment when you’re winning.”