The Springboks went with a six-two bench, but it could still change to a seven-one behemoth before they take the field at Loftus Versfeld to face Ireland in their first test match on Saturday.
Coach Rassie Erasmus hinted that the make-up of the bench could change, depending on “niggled” and may change by Thursday, but said he didn’t want to elaborate further at this stage.
But even if it doesn’t, Erasmus picked a full tight five to come onto the park in the second half, as well as just two backs, explaining his choices came down to versatility rather than experience in these cases.
While Manie Libbok was the starting flyhalf for most of the Rugby World Cup, Handre Pollard has been preferred for this weekend, with Libbok not in the match day 23.
But Erasmus said that young upstart Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu had been preferred simply on the basis of versatility as he could play in most positions in the backline.
Poetry in motion from Handre Pollard and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 🥶 pic.twitter.com/fQBzkavb9D
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 2, 2024
Grant Williams, the other backline player on the bench, can cover nine and 14 as well.
“It’s possible that it could be seven one as well, there are one or two niggles but that we will give it time until Thursday,” Erasmus said, not wanting to elaborate more.
“Sacha certainly brings something to the party and there aren’t a lot of changes when we go six-two. That is actually where Manie misses out - if a 12 goes down, Sacha can slot in because he played 12 at the Stormers, if a 15 goes down, he can go in there.
“Whereas with Manie, and I reiterate, him not making the 23 is purely because we went six-two on the bench. Manie is not as comfortable at 12, Handre would go to 12, and if it was fullback, then Cheslin (Kolbe) would move to fullback. So it makes more sense that Sacha would cover that off the bench for us.”
Rassie Erasmus explains his 6-2 bench selection and why Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was picked in the squad to face Ireland with Manie Libbok missing out 🦵 pic.twitter.com/waySt6VB7Z
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 2, 2024
'ALL-ROUNDER'
Erasmus also explained why he has two locks on the bench and one flank in a six-two split, where normally it is the other way around.
A full tight five will take the field in the second half with the hope that it gives the Boks more domination against the Irish in the last part of the game.
Marco van Staden was also preferred to Evan Roos, and Erasmus explained that his “allrounder” status made him an obvious choice.
“Marco brings an impact in all areas. Carrying the ball, in defence, in slowing the ball down, in mauling and scrumming. He is definitely someone to have on the bench and can play eight as well. He is someone who doesn’t just sort out one department that might not be firing. He is an allrounder, he is a great poacher of the ball and hopefully he can get us a few, but the Irish have tremendous loose forwards,” Erasmus explained.
He also said that he felt that Moerat needed the game as well and thus they had decided on the two locks on the bench.
“RG (Snyman) brings a lot of energy for us off the bench. We rank the players since 2013, what they work on and what their ceiling must be. A guy like Salmaan has just been really unlucky with injuries. He always - at crucial stages before tournaments - picked up bad injuries. He is showing his willingness and physicality in the training sessions - in the 20 odd minutes against Wales. He had solid performances there.
“In that sense it is nice for the front row to have two fresh locks behind them somewhere in the game.”
Whether it's six-two or seven-one, the bench is certainly going to play a massive role on Saturday and the bomb squad, which has been debated at length over the past six years, gets a new makeover for the first test.
But knowing Erasmus, there may be another rabbit out of the hat before kickoff to add some more spice to a highly charged test match.
Here it is, your #Springboks match-23 for the highly-anticipated first Test against Ireland in Pretoria - more here: https://t.co/IowLhMqHO3 🇿🇦#ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/bZoFqXvQuU
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 2, 2024