Boks wary of Lions threat under ‘creative’ Townsend
South Africa coach Jaques Nienaber is wary of the creative threat posed by a Lions team under the attacking guidance of Gregor Townsend as he prepares for the first Test between the sides.
Nienaber has named a strong team to take on the tourists on Saturday, selecting 11 players in his XV who started the World Cup final win over England in 2019.
Captain Siya Kolisi returns after being passed fit to lead his country in Cape Town. The flanker was one of 14 Springboks to test positive for coronavirus, forcing him to self-isolate in Johannesburg for 10 days.
Wing Makazole Mapimpi and prop Ox Nche have been picked tostart,havingalsobeenlaidlow by Covid.
Fly-half Handre Pollard, another of the Springboks who tested positive, will win his 50th cap.allfourmissedsouthafrica
A’s 17-13 win over the Lions last week but nine of that side will start the first Test. The other two changes see hooker Bongo Mbonambi come in for Joseph Dweba and No 8 Kwagga Smith replace Jasper Wiese.
Thestartingxvhasmorethan 500 caps between them and the 23-man matchday squad includes21playerswhofeatured in the 2019 World Cup.
Nevertheless, the coach was keen to talk up the strengths of the Lions, highlighting their depth and Townsend’s range of attacking gambits.
“If you look at their squad they are the best of the best of four topnationsintheworld,soobviously the skill set they possess is multiple,” said Nienaber.
“If the fly-half of Wales struggles, let’s say, they just take the fly-half of England, and if he struggles they just take the No 1 fly-half of Scotland. That is the big challenge of a Lions tour.
“Gregor is a very creative, outthe-box attacking coach, so yes, they have got multiple options; inside, outside, out the back, or they can go over you with an attackingkickinggameandthey can go around you with a multiple passing game. And they can go through you if they decide to gowithabig,strong,moredirect centre pairing.”
Nienaber also namechecked Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe as another potential dangerman for the Boks. The former Edinburgh man has scored five tries for the Lions and picked up two man-of-thematch awards.
“Ifyoulookatduhan,theycan bringhiminsideoroutsideacreative 10,” said Nienaber. “He’s a big boy who carries a lot and can penetrate, so yeah, they’ve gotmultipleoptions.”thesouth Africa coach said the return of Kolisiwas“veryimportant”.“he knows our structures and what we are trying to do from an onfield perspective, and he’s been captain, so it is always nice to have someone bring that calmness.”
The disrupted nature of the Boks’ training camp, combined with the team’s lack of Test action, is hardly ideal preparation.despitethat,hookermbonambi said South Africa were ready to prove people wrong.
“The people out there saying we’re underdone, all it will do is throw more petrol on the fire that is burning,” he said.
South Africa team to face the British and Irish Lions on Saturday, July 24 in Cape Town: W Le Roux (Toyota Verblitz); C Kolbe (Toulouse), L Am (Cell C Sharks), D De Allende (Munster), M Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks); H Pollard (Montpellier), F De Klerk (Sale); O Nche (Cell C Sharks), B Mbonambi (DHL Stormers), T Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls), E Etzebeth (Toulon), F Mostert (Honda Heat), S Kolisi (Cell C Sharks, capt), P Du Toit (DHL Stormers), K Smith (Yamaha Jubilo). Replacements: M Marx (Kubota Spears), S Kitshoff (DHL Stormers), F Malherbe (DHL Stormers), L De Jager (Sale), R Elstadt (Toulouse), H Jantjies (DHL Stormers), E Jantjies (Pau), D Willemse (DHL Stormers).