Rassie Erasmus in search of his best fifteen
● The Springbok think tank must have scratched their collective head at the final whistle of yesterday’s Rugby World Cup Pool B match against Namibia.
Irrespective of the score, or indeed performance, what they stood to glean from the contest can only be measured against how the team played a week earlier against the All Blacks.
The game against Namibia was in effect reduced to a practice match when their coach Phil Davies decided to rest several key players. Giving players outside the go-to matchday 23 playing opportunity was essential for the Springboks, but perhaps the greater imperative was for members of the squad who fell short a week ago the chance to find confidence and form.
Coach Rassie Erasmus intimated he will send into battle his best available team against Italy in Shizuoka next Friday. It has become a high-priority game following their defeat to the All Blacks.
Erasmus is a little wary of the Italians for the same reason Ireland are uneasy about the SA camp’s knowledge of their systems and players. He doesn’t want to take any chances.
The problem he faces is that some players will have to find form in that match, rather than arrive with it. Some, of course, can regain form in the parallel universe that the match against Namibia provides, while others will have to find ways of sharpening their focus and execution on the practice field.
Faf de Klerk’s kicking game deserted him against the All Blacks and the Boks invited pressure onto themselves through the scrumhalf’s imprecision.
However, his experience is key and the coach greatly values his communication skills in a mostly taciturn backline.
Willie le Roux is another player who will have to find solutions to raising his game outside of actual combat. Though Warrick Gelant did duty against Namibia, the coach will more likely go with Cheslin Kolbe or Frans Steyn, who played centre yesterday, if he is to jettison Le Roux. That is unlikely though.
The player who probably stands to benefit most should Kolbe be moved to fullback is Makazole Mapimpi. That would almost guarantee him a starting spot with S’bu Nkosi on the other wing. Mapimpi went walkabout in defence against the All Blacks and his manmarking will have to improve at the sharp end of the tournament.
He should be judged on what happened against the All Blacks and not what transpired against Namibia.
Siya Kolisi, who was set to come off the bench for the last half hour or so yesterday, needs to find his best form soon. He was injured towards the back end of Super Rugby and has gradually been nursed back into the fold. He only saw 50 minutes of combat last weekend, but more telling contributions will be required from the captain in the knockout stages.
Another player earmarked for the bench yesterday, but who will have to produce greater grunt later in the tournament, is Eben Etzebeth. Against the All Blacks he had a strong presence in the lineout, but with the All Blacks operating without their talismanic enforcer Brodie Retallick, Etzebeth perhaps missed an opportunity to lay down the law.
A lot rests on Etzebeth’s shoulders.