If Pat can give Allister 60 minutes, he will start at Loftus
JOHANNESBURG: If Pat Lambie can convince Allister Coetzee he can go for 60 minutes, then he will start at No 10 for the Springboks against the Wallabies next Saturday.
That will be the significant change to the Bok starting lineup from the one who lost 41-13 to the All Blacks in Christchurch five days ago. But there could be more changes in the backline.
Lambie was yesterday included in the 31-man Bok squad for the Rugby Championship Tests against Australia at Loftus Versfeld next weekend, and New Zealand in Durban a week later.
Also back in the mix is utility back Willie le Roux and fit-again forwards, lock Lood de Jager and prop Julian Redelinghuys.
Lambie returned to action for the Sharks last weekend after three months on the sidelines with concussion-related problems. But Coetzee is keen to get the experienced flyhalf in his starting XV following the less-than-satisfactory performances of Elton Jantjies in recent weeks.
Coetzee said yesterday that Lambie has been included in the squad so that the Bok medical and conditioning team can get “first-hand feedback” on his fitness levels.
“We want to ascertain his readiness and confidence for international rugby or whether he rather needs to play another match in the Currie Cup,” the Bok coach.
If Lambie comes through the assessment, he will start for the Boks at Loftus next weekend. If he doesn’t, then Johan Goosen could be preferred at flyhalf in place of Jantjies.
That would open the door for Le Roux to return at fullback, after last playing for the Boks in June. He was dropped for start of the Rugby Championship and has been turning out for his Japanese club, Canon Eagles.
But even if Goosen remains at No 15 there may still be a starting role for Le Roux, possibly on the wing, with Francois Hougaard shifting to scrumhalf.
What is almost certain, though, is Faf de Klerk and Jantjies will not start together in Pretoria; it’s just a matter of who of Lambie or Goosen wear the No 10.
The only Bok player who toured Australasia recently but misses out on selection for the home leg is prop Lourens Adriaanse, who is replaced by the fit-again Redelinghuys. The Lions front-ranker is almost sure to start at Loftus.
While a disappointed Coetzee promised to wield the axe after the Boks’ hammering by the All Blacks, he has stuck largely to the same group of players he’s backed all season.
It is understandable considering so many potential first-choice players like Frans Malherbe, Marcell Coetzee, Siya Kolisi, Duane Vermeulen, Cobus Reinach, Handre Pollard and Jan Serfontein are still injured, and the fact is there are not that many Test-quality players doing the rounds in the Currie Cup.
“We have much work to do as a team and the best way to build confidence is to keep continuity and improve on the individual errors and our game management that have so far hampered us,” the Bok coach added.