It is still nearly four weeks until the Springboks kick off their 2023 international season with their opening Castle Lager Rugby Championship game against Australia, so there is no need to panic, but the world champions do currently only have one fit flyhalf at their training camp.
The Boks moved from Durban to Pretoria last week as they stepped up their preparations for the Rugby Championship, which the management see as an important foundation block for the Rugby World Cup that will take place in France later in the year.
As it stands, DHL Stormers flyhalf Manie Libbok is the only pivot who is taking part in training.
Handre Pollard and Damian Willemse are both sidelined, Frans Steyn is going to be out until at the earliest the second half of the Rugby Championship season, and Elton Jantjies is still committed to the French season with his club.
“Handre has developed a bit of a calf problem and it will take a little longer for him to be back in training,” said national director of rugby Rassie Erasmus.
“Handre will definitely be part of the Rugby Championship, we just need to give him an opportunity to get back to full fitness. Damian Willemse has also taken a knock to the knee and is not training at the moment. So Manie is the only fit flyhalf at the moment. I am sure the other two will be 100 per cent ready once the international season arrives, but at the moment we are a bit thin at 10.”
JANTJIES IS IN THE FRAME
Veteran Jantjies’s international career was put on hold last year following the off-field controversies and disciplinary breaches that were splashed all over the media, but Erasmus confirmed that he was still in the frame for consideration for the World Cup, which kicks off in France in September.
“Elton will definitely be considered, especially given how he is playing over there (France). We just need to get final clearance from the doctor but we do need to have four flyhalves in the squad,” said Erasmus.
Jantjies’s disciplinary infractions coupled with an injury to Pollard that ruled him out for the second half of the Rugby Championship and the end of year tour to Ireland, France, Italy and England gave the Bok coaches the chance to grow their flyhalf depth in 2022.
Willemse emerged as the man who’d be relied on to wear the No 10 if injuries ruled out Pollard or Jantjies, capping a fine end-of-year tour by turning in a man of the match performance against England at Twickenham.
However, if you add the current fitness battle faced by Steyn, who was used as the starting flyhalf in the 2022 Rugby Championship decider against Argentina in Durban, Erasmus is right when he says it currently looks a bit thin when it comes to the pivot position.
RG BOLSTERS LOCK RESOURCES IN EBEN'S ABSENCE
That is not really the case at lock, where the return of RG Snyman from his injury problems, coupled with the selection of his Munster second row teammate Jean Kleyn, has helped offset the continued absence from training of Eben Etzebeth.
“At the moment it looks like Eben will be ready by the middle of the Rugby Championship towards the Rugby Championship,” said the director of rugby.
“We have three flyhalves, there are 40 players at this camp, and we will be playing six games before the World Cup starts, so there are bound to be injuries. There are currently four to five guys limping, we have had our little setback with Handre, but if Eben is injured again we will definitely have enough locks.
“It is great to have RG back with us for the first time since the 2019 World Cup and we are pleased to note that he has been used as a lineout leader and caller by Munster. That wasn’t something he was previously doing with us so that is a big boost for us. We have added Jean Kleyn as we have been monitoring him since the regulation 8 rule was changed to permit players who have represented another country to turn out for their initial country according to certain stipulations.
“We actually voted against the change but then when we were outvoted we decided to think how we could get the change to work with us. Jean has been in excellent form, he forms a good partnership with RG for Munster, and he will join RG, who can play 4 and 5, in adding to the back-up to Eben at front lock.”
KOLISI IS HITTING HIS TARGETS
It should be recalled that another so-called front lock, the Stormers’ Salmaan Moerat, is still out with a long-term injury sustained playing in a Heineken Champions Cup game against London Irish shortly before Christmas. But again, the addition of Kleyn and the return of Snyman offsets that loss.
The Stormers openside flank Deon Fourie, who is listed as a utility forward at the Boks, is currently sidelined with a niggle, and the other players out currently apart from Pollard, Willemse and Etzebeth are scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse and skipper Siya Kolisi. The news continues to be good when it comes to Kolisi’s race to be fit.
“He is still hitting all the targets that have been set in his rehab and is still on track to be ready for the World Cup,” said coach Jacques Nienaber, who reiterated that the Boks will be using interim captains in the meantime.
“We will only change the captaincy if it is confirmed that Siya won’t make it to the World Cup. Until then we will be using different guys to lead the team.”
#Springboks news from Pretoria: Kolisi's recovery is on track amid flyhalf concerns - more here: https://t.co/elkRG6D2Op ??#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/jS1Iy7bOx6
— Springboks (@Springboks) June 14, 2023
With the Boks likely to split resources when it comes to the first two Rugby Championship games because of logistical issues, the Boks are likely to be using two captains in the competition.
“We actually have a lot of options, not just Handre,” Erasmus pointed out when he was asked if Pollard’s injury complicated the captaincy issue. Pollard is the vice-captain.
“We have Steven Kitshoff who has captained (the Stormers) and won a URC, we have Duane Vermeulen who has captained, both hookers can captain, Lukhanyo Am has captained at franchise level, Pieter-Steph du Toit has also led the Boks before.”