The Springboks were delivered a sobering wake-up call in their first test against Italy, so much so that it may have triggered some enormous shifts in the national squad hierarchy ahead of the second test in Gqeberha this coming Saturday.
The 42-24 win over the Azzurri was mission accomplished in one sense - that the Boks got a comfortable victory - but the “frustration” - in Rassie Erasmus’ words afterwards - may have given more away about the shifts than previously thought.
The Boks have often said they want to blood a number of young players this year, and prolong the careers of several double World Cup winners at the same time. The masterplan has been to evolve the attacking game plan at the same time as using the youthful exuberance to complement the experience in the squad and come up with a winning formula.
While you wouldn’t normally see an 18-point win as a negative, and certainly there hasn’t been any panic in the Bok camp just yet, there are some telling signs that the shift internally in the player hierarchy may come a lot sooner than expected.
Erasmus said he was “frustrated” at the game and how the Boks played, especially in the second half - and it was easy to see why. A lineout that barely functioned, a Bok team beaten at the breakdowns and four second-half tries to Italy - including a 22 metre rolling maul try - was a source of embarrassment for the World Champions against a side missing 17 regulars and vastly understrength.
HIGH STANDARDS
There may have been a hint of complacency in the second-half performance, but it is clear the Boks measure themselves against their own standards and this fell way short of what they wanted out of the game.
Erasmus alluded to the result of that frustration in that some players may have already shifted down the hierarchy with this coming week’s selections likely to give a better indication of just how much that has happened.
The Boks already said last week that players such as World Player of the year Pieter-Steph du Toit, captain Siya Kolisi, scrumhalf Grant Williams and winger Makazole Mapimpi will all return in the coming week and they are expected to be in the matchday 23 - with their roles determined by fitness as some are returning from injury.
Erasmus also said that rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu would start in the second test against Italy and there would likely be a role for experienced scrumhalf Cobus Reinach as well.
Where the rest of the Boks and the under-performing Bomb Squad fit in after that, awaits to be seen.
CHANGES COMING
“Internally we’ve announced the 13, 14 players that will definitely get a run next week, and that we’d build the bench or starting lineup around those guys,” he said.
“We won’t discard those guys but some of them might move to the bench, some of the real standout players who played today might start again.
“The make-up of the team may change to handle the physicality that Italy threw at us. You’d think a team that made 120 tackles in the first half would break in the second half.
“But it’s a team that’s fit and passionate and we have to make sure that the team that we put out next week is not just a team that can go 50 or 60 minutes, it must be a team that can go 80 minutes.”
Erasmus also said that some players who were first choice might find themselves as second choice players after the completion of what is expected to be a harsh review session for the squad on Monday.
With Damian de Allende the only player struggling with a niggle - his hamstring - but a lot of “bruised egos”, Erasmus will make his announcements to the team on Monday and to the public on Tuesday.
But it was clear that after scoring four first-half tries and looking well on track to post a big score, the Boks’ second half, and the lack of influence of their bomb squad, is a real concern.
PLAYERS PUT ON NOTICE
The players who may have disappointed won’t be tossed aside as yet, but will be put on notice. Erasmus has been clear that the Bok plans move forward if they achieve their ideals. While they won handsomely in the end, the performance wasn’t up to their standards and the management will know all too well that against a top three side, this could have easily been a very different result.
The wake-up call was needed and better to have it now, than in one of the massive games later in the season.
Plus, the players knocking on the door should start getting more opportunities to show their worth and place pressure on the top players.
“It was a very frustrating game,” said Erasmus. “We knew they would man up, and they certainly manned up in most departments; scrums, mauling, defence, attack – it was a proper test match.
“When we were 28-3 up and we scored that try that was disallowed for obstruction, I thought we might have them, but then we lost some momentum.
“I don’t think we have too many excuses and it certainly makes the selection for next week interesting – they could easily have come back into it at the end. They performed really well – we definitely tried to impose our game on them, and they didn’t allow it.
FRUSTRATION
“The frustration was not only about not dominating, but also that the game was stop-start, stop-start. It felt like we didn’t get any intensity in the second half.
“The positives are that we won; that we scored tricks even with a maul that didn’t function, even with a breakdown that wasn’t great on attack, even with a counterattack that wasn’t awesome, we still scored six tries.”
Those high standards are what got this squad to their No 1 world ranking and have kept them ahead of the chasing pack. The wake-up call will serve as a reminder that the team needs to evolve if they are to stay ahead of the rest.