Nuggety No 9’s absence would hurt the Boks

The possible unavailability of star Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk could present a selection conundrum for national coach Rassie Erasmus ahead of the end-of-year tour to Europe.

The possible vacuum left by De Klerk could create a less than ideal scenario.

It does, however, present an opportunity to build the squad’s depth, with the names of Embrose Papier, Ivan van Zyl and Ross Cronje all being thrown in the hat, while Louis Schreuder and Jano Vermaak could also be on the radar.

De Klerk has been Erasmus’ first-choice No 9 for the entire year, but he could be forced to return to England next week.

According to De Klerk’s club, Sale Sharks, he could also be cut down to limited playing time during the Boks’ season-ending tour which includes a Test against England on November 3, followed by matches against France, Scotland and Wales.

De Klerk, who scored his third try in his 19th Test last week, played the entire 80 minutes in the Boks’ recent victories over New Zealand and Australia, and Sale are concerned the nippy No 9 is being overplayed.

In the 36-34 win against New Zealand in Wellington, the replacement scrumhalf on the bench was Cronje, but he was the only replacement not used by Erasmus.

Ditto last weekend in PE when Papier was the replacement scrumhalf in the 23-12 victory over the Wallabies but he was also not used, though Erasmus in this case did not use any of his three backline replacements which also included flyhalf Elton Jantjies and fullback Damian Willemse.

Bok players, who are based overseas, have increasingly come under the radar with their clubs carefully managing how they are being utilised, and here the names of No 8 Duane Vermeulen, flank Francois Louw and fullback Willie le Roux also spring to mind.

Vermeulen was not made available for the Rugby Championship because of his club commitments in Japan, and Le Roux was initially not expected to be available for the PE Test before his Wasps club released him a week before the match.

Louw had to return to his Bath club for two weeks straight after the Boks’ clash in Wellington last month, and he has just rejoined the national squad for tomorrow’s big showdown.

Fortunately Erasmus has created a good relationship with the overseas clubs, and Le Roux and company have been invaluable.