Squad should rely on traditional strengths
After the excitement of the Currie Cup final in Durban today, the focus in South African rugby will return to Springbok coach Allister Coetzee, as he names the 34-man squad to tour Europe tomorrow.
The end-of-year tour has traditionally been the time when the coach brings in the fresh blood every team needs and the players who have caught the eye in the Currie Cup get the chance to show what they can do at a higher level. It is, to some extent, the time for experimentation.
But the tenuous hold Coetzee has on his job – notwithstanding the much-improved showing in the last game against the All Blacks – means the pressure is still on and the Springboks need to actually beat Ireland, France, Italy and Wales. The first two have already been beaten by the Springboks under Coetzee, but on home soil, while the latter two were the winners on South Africa’s terrible 2016 European tour. So the trip will be a good measure of the progress that has been made this year, with the results in the Rugby Championship not providing the definitive answer SA rugby was looking for.
So Coetzee, needing wins, is likely to stick to the vast majority of the squad that ended the Rugby Championship. Hopefully he will also stick to the style of play the Springboks delivered – if not the result – at Newlands.
Large forwards carrying the ball with tremendous ferocity seems to be one of the few things to scare the All Blacks, so why wouldn’t we use that same strength against all the other lesser teams we play against? It was disconcerting after the Newlands epic to hear Coetzee pour cold water on suggestions this should be the template for all Springbok rugby.
Given how well the Sharks have played in the second half of the year, it seems obvious that their players are the most likely to benefit when Coetzee looks to spread his net a bit wider.
Thomas du Toit and Franco Marais have been key members of the outstanding Sharks front row, and the only reason they haven’t yet played for the Springboks must surely be the demands of transformation. But given that Chiliboy Ralepelle is now the third-choice hooker at the Sharks, it is surely time for Marais to be included in the squad.
The battle between Du Toit and Western Province tighthead prop Wilco Louw is going to be one of the highlights of the Currie Cup final and they are the future of South African scrummaging.
The scrumhalf position is one area where the future is concerning and the time has probably come to give the 27-year-old Louis Schreuder a run to see if the same slick work he brings to the Sharks team can be repeated in international rugby.
The contest between Elton Jantjies and Handre Pollard for the starting flyhalf berth will be one of the features of the tour, but the precocious Curwin Bosch should travel as their back-up.
The admirable Sharks captain Ruan Botha could get the nod as the fourth lock in the touring party, while the hard-working Western Province flank Nizaam Carr certainly deserves a return to Springbok colours, but the competition is fierce with the likes of Oupa Mohoje and Uzair Cassiem also in the picture.
The unfortunate injury to Sbu Nkosi rules him out of contention, with the impressive duo of Makazole Mapimpi and Seabelo Senatla competing to join the brilliant Blue Bulls fullback Warrick Gelant and Sharks centre Lukhanyo Am as the other uncapped backline players.