Much to mull over Big Bok selection questions
● The upcoming series against the British & Irish Lions has given rugby pundits much to mull over. Inevitably team selection is a big talking point and here are six names that are frequently mentioned, writes LIAM DEL CARME
Marco van Staden
He may be one of the country’s form players and he may be particularly good in his area of expertise but in a Springboks’ context Van Staden’s fortunes are inextricably linked to that of captain Siya Kolisi.
He was perhaps unfortunate to lose out on World Cup selection and as a consequence played the last of his three Tests just before the team left for Japan in 2019.
He is a relentlessly effective pilferer at the breakdown and when he doesn’t turn over possession he brings a nuisance factor that is hard to ignore.
Apart from having the physical attributes to excel at his job, Van Staden also has the uncanny ability of knowing when to commit and when not to.
It is a skill that sets the best players apart especially at the tail-end of matches when weary minds interpret floodlight as “daylight”.
It is a role Francois Louw performed with distinction in the latter part of the last World Cup and the Boks will do well to have a player with a similar aptitude on hand.
Cornal Hendricks
Much has been said of Hendricks’s remarkable return over the past season or so. Hendricks now operates as if he is forever playing his last game and to have that fullthrottle approach on loop has been something to behold.
His ability to carry the ball to the heart of the opposition defence makes him a linchpin for setting up play. Bulls coach Jake White reflected after his team’s Currie Cup success earlier this year that Hendricks was “probably our best player”.
His former sevens coach, Paul Treu, described him as “coachable” and “a real team player”.
Those attributes will come in handy if he cracks the nod, especially with Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am ahead in the pecking order.
Wandisile Simelane
The much talked about Simelane is also due to join the midfield queue.
At only 23 years old Simelane can bide his time as the settled Springbok midfield combination looks likely to take centre stage.
If he doesn’t crack Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber’s squad for the Tests, he will likely feature against the tourists in the SA A side.
He is likely to earn selection in the initial 45-man group due to be announced next Saturday.
In De Allende and Am, the Springboks have two battle-hardened operators who are now accustomed to trench warfare.
A series against the British & Irish Lions is always contested in similar waist-high muck, which is probably not the terrain in which Simelane’s skill is shown to be the best.
Johan Goosen
When Goosen’s name is mentioned it is usually preceded by “what about”. The 28-yearold may not necessarily feature high on the Bok brains trust’s list of priorities but his experience and recent form have made him a much talked about player.
Goosen was one of the key figures in Montpellier’s surge to the European Challenge Cup last weekend.
Goosen plays with gusto that partly explains his close relationship with the physio’s bench.
An infrequent starter for the Boks, Goosen played 13 Tests between 2012 and his last in 2016.
He is temperamental and admits to having made poor career decisions, and it is perhaps those deviations rather than his skill set, that could prove an impediment too large to overlook for the Bok management.
Raymond Rhule
Like Goosen, Rhule has blipped brightly in distant orbit but that doesn’t make his performances for La Rochelle less meritorious.
He, too, has had to rebuild his career in France. He played seven Tests in a disastrous 2017 for the Springboks.
His last was the 57-0 annihilation in North Harbour at the hands of the All Blacks.
Low in confidence, Rhule left the StormBy
Hendricks operates as if he is playing his last game and to have that full-throttle approach on loop has been something to behold
ers in 2018 for Grenoble but has since settled and flourished under coach Ronan O’Gara at La Rochelle.
La Rochelle’s high-tempo game that places a premium on keeping the ball alive has suited Rhule.
He rediscovered his bark and his bite in a team lumped with the perennial tag of underdogs.
Morne Steyn
Steyn hasn’t just kicked the ball with inchperfect precision but hit Father Time in the teeth. At 36, most players would be winding down the clock but Steyn has lost little if any of the sparkling touches that helped the Springboks beat the British & Irish Lions in 2009.
It was his last-minute penalty in the second Test that helped separate the two teams and it is that ice-in-the-veins composure Nienaber is likely to want in reserve going into the series.
When Steyn performed those heroics in 2009 he did so after coming off the bench and he may be designated for a similar role with Handre Pollard the man in possession of the No 10 jersey.