Cronje back to boost Boks
COACH: HE HAS HAD AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF RUGBY
Workaholic in cotton wool for next week’s showdown.
It’s almost impossible to imagine a Springbok starting line-up without the name of workhorse lock forward Franco Mostert. But it’s in the best interests of the player to give him a rest this weekend for the Rugby Championship Test against Australia in Perth, said coach Allister Coetzee yesterday.
“Franco has played an enormous amount of rugby – at Super Rugby level, playing club rugby in Japan and starting all of our five Tests so far,” said Coetzee.
Coetzee said he is always guided by his medical staff and it will ensure Mostert gets a complete rest for next weekend’s All Blacks Test, with Lood de Jager added to the bench and Pieter-Steph du Toit starting next to skipper Eben Etzebeth.
“We have to be sensible in managing the workload of certain players, such as Franco,” said Coetzee.
“We are fortunate to have a number of very good locks, Pieter-Steph now gets an opportunity to start again, and we know what he is capable of.”
In the only other change to the run-on team scrumhalf Ross Cronje convinced Coetzee that he has shaken off his ankle injury which will see Francois Hougaard revert to the bench.
Hougaard is joined on the bench for the first time since 2015 by flyhalf Handre Pollard, with Coetzee ensuring that despite his inactivity on the pitch won’t leave him rusty.
“I am really satisfied with the way he has trained and it’s great for the team to have a player of his calibre on the bench,” said Coetzee.
With the Boks unbeaten so far this year, the Wallabies clash will be their biggest challenge, but Coetzee assured that they won’t carry the burden of the heavy travel schedule which had been laid on them over the last two weeks.
“Even though we travelled to three continents in 10 days, this group has the desire to get better and learn from previous experiences,” said Coetzee.
“The performance in Salta was not perfect, but we are looking forward to the next opportunity to improve as individuals and as a team.”