A headache Erasmus will enjoy
There are so many quality loose-forwards around for the Bok coach to choose from
ARGUABLY the biggest shock when the 2015 Springbok World Cup squad was announced by Heyneke Meyer was the omission of flank Marcell Coetzee, who had been very good for the Boks in 28 Tests between 2012 and 2015.
Nobody could fault Coetzee for then departing the Sharks for Northern Ireland club Ulster, where he has become something of a cult hero along with his former Sharks teammate Ruan Pienaar. He and Coetzee put their bodies on the line for Ulster and were just about given the freedom of Belfast, such was their popularity.
Coetzee’s commitment to Ulster was reflected in the manner in which he fought back from three potentially career-ending knee injuries. That refusal to give up has ultimately earned him a recall to the Boks, and if the 28-year-old indeed goes to Japan as one of Rassie Erasmus’ loose forward options, it will be thoroughly deserved.
In an ideal, injury-free world, Erasmus will have captain Siya Kolisi on one flank, the exceptional Pieter-Steph du Toit on the other and Duane Vermeulen at No 8, with the options of bringing on one of Francois Louw, Kwagga Smith or Coetzee, or possibly two of them given that Coetzee and Louw can play all three positions.
Vermeulen is now 33 and if any of the three loose forward starters will need relief as the games hit the three-quarter mark, it is him. In fact, if we were perfectly honest, Vermeulen goes into Saturday’s Rugby Championship match against the Pumas a little off form.
The “Great Duane” was colossal in the series win over England last year, igniting the comeback in the first Test at Ellis Park and setting the pace in the second Test win in Bloemfontein. The fact that in 2019 he has yet to scale those heights should not be seen as a negative because great players hit their straps on the big stages, and it doesn’t get bigger than the World Cup.
Mark my words, we will see Vermeulen at his best in Japan. The same goes for Kolisi, who has missed the Rugby Championship because of injury but is set to make a comeback in the friendly against Argentina in Pretoria on August 17 and then the warm-up against Japan in Tokyo on September 6.
Kolisi’s absence afforded Smith an opportunity in Wellington against the All Blacks and he took it with both hands, continuing his red hot form for the Lions on the international stage. Smith is the most athletic of Erasmus’ options and will surely play a role when the coach anticipates an open, fast-faced match.
In the opening Rugby Championship match, Erasmus had a good look at Rynhardt Elstadt and Coetzee against the Wallabies, the latter playing off the bench for Du Toit, and it is likely that Erasmus will look to give Coetzee, in particular, much more game time in Salta on Saturday.
We shouldn’t forget than former captain Warren Whiteley might still force his way into the equation after his latest injury, and then there is also Marco van Staden, who played his way into the squad with excellent form on the openside flank for the Bulls.
Elstadt, who has flourished at Toulouse since departing the Stormers, is very much in the mould of Du Toit in that he offers a serious physical presence both on attack and defence, as well a solid line-out option.
If you consider that Erasmus has yet to feel a need to call up the Du Preez twins, Dan and Jean-luc, who were excellent for the Sharks in Super Rugby, then his options are indeed luxuriant.
How all these options will be pieced together over the course of the World Cup is a headache Erasmus will be happy to have.