Wallaby coach Eddie Jones had a tizzy fit when it was suggested to him that his side was beaten by a second string Springbok outfit when the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and his second stint as Australian coach started in Pretoria, and he might now feel vindicated.
With nine of the players who started in South Africa’s comprehensive win at Loftus back for Saturday’s final Championship game against Argentina in Johannesburg, Bok coach Jacques Nienaber certainly has us guessing about which his preferred combinations might be as the build-up to the Rugby World Cup intensifies. Right now, as Jones asserted, it is hard to say that there’s a Springbok B team.
Which is the way it should be if you are a Bok fan and believe that the World Cup champions being able to call on two alternative teams of almost equal strength is a great safeguard for Nienaber. The Boks are heading into a RWC where the challenge posed by the pool phase - Scotland won’t be an easy side to beat - and then what comes after that is tougher than ever.
Looking at the selections for the clash with the Los Pumas, and remembering how Jones’ Wallabies were put to the sword by a multi-faceted Bok assault in Pretoria, it is also becoming apparent that the Boks will be heading to France in September with another thing they’ve not had in the past. They have more than one way to play and win. Perhaps they’ve had that for a while, but now, with the latest selections as evidence, there appears to be greater intent.
WILLIAMS SELECTION TELEGRAPHS INTENT
Some overseas scribes were asking last weekend if the Bok coaches would be prepared to drop the experienced and tactically astute scrumhalf Faf de Klerk for the arguably bigger attacking threat of Grant Williams. In truth we don’t actually know the answer to that question, as the team for Saturday will have experimental elements to it.
But Williams is getting a chance to show what he can do as the starting scrumhalf and his selection fits into a team that is patently geared for a more high tempo game. The so-called first choice team was beaten for tempo as much as anything else by the All Blacks in that awful opening 20 minutes in Auckland two weeks ago.
While there may have been good reasons for that, such as the rust carried by some players who were playing their first game since April and the fact that South Africans don’t get to play the Kiwis regularly post the Super Rugby era, that horrible opening quarter did expose a potential failing.
It’s not of course just Williams’ selection that suggests the Boks are looking at upping the tempo and prioritising the attacking edge we saw against the Wallabies, but also that of his halfback partner Manie Libbok. The selection of Malcolm Marx as the starting hooker ahead of Bongi Mbonambi, a move most would surely agree with, also points in the direction of the Boks wanting to ask early questions of the opposing defence this time rather than have to wait for a recovery effort later on.
FULL DRESS REHEARSAL WILL COME LATER
Not that you can possibly equate the challenge Duane Vermeulen’s team face on Saturday with that they faced when they played the All Blacks, particularly not in Johannesburg, where the hosts have the same altitude advantage they had against the Wallabies. Nope, the full dress rehearsal for the World Cup proper, and the unveiling of the top team, might well only happen when the All Blacks come back into view for the eagerly anticipated warmup game at Twickenham four weeks hence.
Based on what we have seen so far though Vermeulen and Pieter-Steph du Toit can be seen as form selections for Emirates Airlines Park, with the other back row member, Marco van Staden, also challenging Kwagga Smith strongly for his right to be considered Kolisi’s stand in while the regular skipper is absent.
On the face of it, you might be able to draw a vague comparison between what the Boks have to do in Johannesburg with what they were set out to do against the Pumas the last time they played them, which was in the corresponding final game of the 2022 Rugby Championship in Durban. The difference this time being that whereas last September the target was a clear one because the All Blacks had played Australia earlier in the week, this time the game in Melbourne is taking place just a few hours before the Bok/Pumas game kicks off.
SHOULD BE MORE CLINICAL THIS TIME
No-one really expects the Wallabies to shock the All Blacks, much less win by the kind of score that would put the Boks in the frame for a potential Championship triumph. So what Saturday is really about is testing combinations and rebuilding any confidence that might have been lost due to what happened in Auckland.?Pumas coach Michael Cheika has made five changes to the team that played the Wallabies two weeks ago, which in itself is interesting because Argentina won that game. The starting halfbacks have been changed, with Santiago Chocobares returning at flyhalf and Lautaro Bazan Velez at scrumhalf. There are also two changes to the back three, actually three if you consider the positional switch necessitated by the return of Juan Imhoff on the left wing, with Matteo Carreras moving to the right, and Juan Cruz Manilla back at fullback.
The Pumas will arrive with confidence after their win in Sydney but the smart money should be on the same thing happening to them that happened to the Wallabies. Indeed, seeing this will be their third game of the international season - well at least the second for most of the players - there should be less rust from the South Africans and the finishing could be more clinical this time. Which could spell trouble for Argentina.
TEAMS
South Africa: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Manie Libbok, Grant Williams, Duane Vermeulen, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Marco van Staden, Marvin Orie, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Trevor Nyakane, Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Kwagga Smith, Faf de Klerk, Lukhanyo Am, Damian Willemse.
Argentina: Juan Cruz Manilla, Matteo Carreras, Lucio Cinti, Santiago Chocobares, Juan Imhoff, Santiago Carreras, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Juan Martin Gonzales, Santiago Grondona, Pablo Matera, Tomas Lavanini, Lucas Paulos, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Julian Montoya (captain), Thomas Galo.
Replacements: Ignacio Ruiz, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Joel Sclavi, Pedro Rubiolo, Facundo Isa, Gonzalo Bertranou, Tomas Albornoz, Matias Moroni.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Kick-off: 17.05
Prediction: Boks to win by 25 points or more