Japan clubs ride to Bok rescue
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber can now bank on nine players based in the Land of the Rising Sun for November’s Test against England.
The most important news to emerge from the Springbok camp this week is that the players based in Japan – nine World Cup winners in all – will be available for the fourth and final Test of the tour to Europe.
Injury concerns aside, the coaches will be able to select a strong and experienced team, even though the match against England at Twickenham on 26 November will be staged outside the official Test window.
The significance of this development cannot be overstated. There are more senior Boks based in Japan these days than there are in Europe.
The availability of Damian de Allende, Lood de Jager, Faf de Klerk, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jesse Kriel, Willie le Roux, Malcolm Marx, Franco Mostert and Kwagga Smith will certainly improve the Boks’ chances of ending a six-year losing streak against England at Twickenham.
Fighting for Boks based in Europe
Negotiations between SA Rugby and the relevant clubs in England, France and Ireland are continuing.
As things stand, players who are based in Europe are unlikely to be released for a game staged outside the Test window.
According to World Rugby’s regulation 9, all players are available for international selection during specific periods throughout the season.
The clubs aren’t obligated to release their players outside the official windows, however, and often act in their own interests or in those of a national team.
Asked about the situation this past week, director of rugby Rassie Erasmus recalled the Test between the Boks and England at Twickenham in 2018, which was staged outside the international window. De Klerk and Le Roux, who were playing for English clubs at that point, were unavailable for selection. The Boks went on to lose 12-11.
“On the one hand, that situation does give you a chance to put a youngster in front of 85,000 people,” Erasmus said. “[In 2018] we had Ivan van Zyl playing at scrumhalf and Damian Willemse starting at fullback for the first time.
“On the other hand, you’re in a situation where England can pick their best team [thanks to an agreement with the English clubs] and it’s still a Test match seven months out from the World Cup.
“We are happy to have the Japan-based players available for the coming tour,” Erasmus added.
“Our South African franchises have been great. They have a right to stop us from using their players outside of the window, but they don’t,” he said.
“We have a good relationship with the French clubs and managed to secure players outside of the window the last time we played overseas. In principle, they can stand their ground – that is, if they don’t want to build that relationship with us and get South African players in future.”
The Boks will be without an experienced option at No 8 if Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) and Duane Vermeulen (Ulster) are recalled to their respective clubs before the final tour fixture.
Cheslin Kolbe (Toulon) and Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92) are also in danger of missing out. Handré Pollard (Leicester Tigers) has already been ruled out of the tour because of a serious knee injury.
Worst-case scenario avoided
Fortunately, the team will have access to the nine Boks based in Japan. With no major rugby matches scheduled at that time, the local clubs have agreed to release their players for both a training camp in South Africa and the duration of the tour to Europe. Vincent Koch, who is back on the club market after the Wasps’ recent suspension and relegation, will also be available.
Earlier this year, when the fixtures for the Bok tour to Europe were first confirmed, it was feared that none of the players based overseas would be available for the match against England because of it being staged outside the Test window.
At the time, coach Jacques Nienaber was facing the prospect of fielding a team made up of local players – and ultimately second- and third-choice combinations.
Nienaber blooded nine new players across the Wales series in July and in the subsequent Rugby Championship out of necessity.
The Bok coach spoke about developing the wider squad ahead of the 2023 World Cup and hinted at the more immediate challenge to come on the tour to Europe in November.
In a worst-case scenario, the Boks would be without more than half of their squad and a host of senior players owing to their club commitments abroad.
Fast-forward to the present, and it appears that the worst-case scenario will not come to pass. SA Rugby deserves credit for securing the release of the players based in Japan and improving the Boks’ chances of success on a challenging tour.
Injuries and off-field issues have already forced Nienaber’s hand at flyhalf, and the Boks will start the tour with Willemse – the third choice – at No 10.
If not for the work done behind the scenes by Erasmus and company, Nienaber would have been pressed to start less experienced players in the second and back rows and in the key position of No 13.
There are more senior squad members based in Japan these days than in any other foreign nation. Du Toit, Kriel, Le Roux, Marx, Mostert and Smith have all been playing in Japan for some time.
De Allende, De Jager and De Klerk only recently swapped Europe for the Land of the Rising Sun.
Of the players based overseas who have been selected by the Boks since the start of 2021, eight are based in England, seven in France and two in Ireland.
Although there are several prominent players in England, the largest group of players that won the previous World Cup is based in Japan.