The Springboks didn’t quite hit target in the series against Ireland but they ended the Incoming Tours phase of the new international season in a good space as the final game against Portugal has left coach Rassie Erasmus with a good type of dilemma.
A big win for the #Springboks, thanks @PortugalRugby for a memorable night in Bloem 🤝 #ForeverGreenForeverGold #Springboks #RSAvPOR pic.twitter.com/wplBdtYVM7
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 20, 2024
Erasmus was impressed with the performances turned in by the newcomers and other fringe players pressing for a start, and admitted that they’ve given him options for the next challenge, which is the opening Castle Lager Rugby Championship games against Australia. There’s more than that though, for the statements made by the likes of BJ Dixon, Johan Grobbelaar and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu have been accompanied by a much improved injury situation for the world champions.
Erasmus confirmed after the game that instead of being out for another six weeks with an unspecified injury, Pieter-Steph du Toit has been cleared to return to the field straight away. Which means he will be available for selection for the first Australian game in Brisbane on 10 August. And the news around Malcolm Marx is almost as good - he will probably be ready in time for the second Championship game in Australia a week later.
Which might mean that Dixon and Grobbelaar, who both stood out in the 64-21 win over Portugal at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, won’t be needed as much as they thought they might at that stage of the Championship. Although it looks as though Erasmus is considering giving some of the players pressing for places in the first choice team an opportunity against the Wallabies judging from what he said in the post-match press conference on Saturday night.
“I promised the whole squad that everyone would get a game today and at least 20 minutes on the field,” he said. “The way they rewarded us for giving them that chance was really unbelievable. I’m very proud of them.
“We will definitely be slowly integrating some of these players into the squad, and some might play against Australia but then not against New Zealand – but then come back against Argentina.”
The squad for the two match tour of Australia will be announced on Tuesday, and another player who is a double World Cup winner who will be back in the selection mix is Steven Kitshoff, who Erasmus says has also been cleared. Another previously injured Stormers Bok, Damian Willemse, is said to be making good progress towards a return but there is no confirmation at this point when he will be ready to play.
Not that the Boks brains trust have too much to worry about when it comes to depth, with the Bloemfontein game also providing us of a reminder of the skills of Lukhanyo Am, who ended up having to cover two positions because of the red card to Andre Esterhuizen that was the only blight on the Bok performance.
Am looks well over the injury problems that kept him out of the initial part of the World Cup and apart from some stellar work on defence it looks like he’s got his old stepping ability back, something many feared he may have lost through a series of serious injuries.
While not happy with the indiscipline that led to the cards, Erasmus was happy with the way his young team, which included seven new caps if you include the ones on the bench, adapted to the challenge of being a man down from a very early period of the game.
“I was happy with everything other than discipline – a red card and two yellows is not going to win you World Cups,” said Erasmus.
“We had to make plans on the field to play with 14 men (and at times 13) – that’s a nice experience.
“It wasn’t a beautiful match at times, and it didn’t look like we were going to punish them with 50 points, but the crowd never got negative, and I think that helped the players. Having seven debutants play with four of them scoring tries makes things interesting when it comes to selecting the squad for the Championship and the trip to Australia.”
New Bok captain Salaam Moerat meanwhile praised Portugal’s combative spirit.
“They showed what a quality side they are. They took us coast-to-coast and there were stages where we were looking for our breath,” said Moerat.
“When we went down to 14, we knew we had to work even harder as a tight five – but a lot of credit needs to go to Manie (Libbok) and Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) and the way they managed that situation without an inside centre.”