All eyes will be on Mohoje as he starts against Wallabies
FLANK Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje will come under intense scrutiny after he was named to start for the Springboks against Australia at Newlands on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Cheetahs backrower has been at the centre of a brewing transformation storm after being overlooked since making his Test debut off the bench against Scotland in June.
But an injury to Francois Louw has allowed coach Heyneke Meyer to find a place for Mohoje in his team. It is a risky selection considering Mohoje has previously started only five games as a professional — at the Cheetahs during Super Rugby.
“Political pressure definitely didn’t play a role in Oupa’s selection,” Meyer said. “I’ve had a plan with Oupa since day one and there is no extra pressure on him.
“He deserves his chance because he has shown the willingness to work on his game in training. His line-out work is excellent and he has improved his defence and his cleaning,” Meyer said.
“Oupa has had a dream season, but this is his first year at this level and he had never been away from home. He had never toured Australasia or played away, so it would have been a big ask to have thrown him in earlier. He has been training well with us and improved.
“My coaching style has always been to have a big ball-carrier on the blindside and Oupa fulfils that role. We’ve struggled to find a replacement for Willem Alberts.
“In the past few games we’ve essentially gone with two open-sides and while we were very effective on the ground, we lacked the physical presence of a big ball-carrier. Oupa is a lot like Willem, who can also play a bit of lock.”
Veteran Schalk Burger will cover all three loose-forward positions from the bench while scrumhalf Francois Hougaard is the only other change to the team that lost 14-10 to the All Blacks two weeks ago. He replaces the injured Ruan Pienaar.
Sharks scrumhalf Cobus Reinach is on the bench and could make his Test debut at the same venue where his late father, Jaco, played his first Test against the New Zealand Cavaliers in 1986.
Hooker Adriaan Strauss keeps his place ahead of Bismarck du Plessis, while lock Bakkies Botha and
He deserves his chance because he has shown the willingness to work on his game in training. His line-out work is excellent
wing-centre JP Pietersen return among the reserves.
Meyer admitted that there was an element of risk to Mohoje’s selection, considering that he last played a game on July 12 when the Cheetahs faced the Lions at Ellis Park.
It’s been nearly 10 weeks since Mohoje’s last proper outing.
“I’m definitely concerned about Oupa’s match sharpness, but he is very fit,” Meyer said. “Fortunately, we have Schalk Burger on the bench who is match-ready after three games in Japan.
“Schalk will probably play the last 30 minutes. But Oupa is really fit and I’m looking forward to seeing him go because he can add a lot of value with his ball-carrying, especially in the wider channels.”