It may appear sacrilege to suggest that there should be change to the Springbok team in an area where it went so well in the first meeting with the All Blacks, but then Rassie Erasmus has hinted there will be change and his words and his plan suggest just about anything is possible.
There are two key quotes from the past week, first from the Springbok coach himself and then from one o his players, that give an insight into what Erasmus is up to at this moment in time. And while Erasmus hates losing and his team will clinch the Castle Lager Rugby Championship for only the second time in its current guise if they complete the double on Saturday, he is creating a base that makes apparent left field selections much less risky than they appear.
First let’s hear from Erasmus, who was speaking at last week’s team announcement at the Hyde Park Southern Sun in Johannesburg: “There is no such thing as a first choice team, only in the World Cup final will we have a first choice team.”
Then, more recently, two days after he played an influential part in the Bomb Squad’s hijacking of what had appeared to be an All Black waltz to certain victory in Johannesburg, came the words of Elrigh Louw.
““There is a lot of competition within the squad, and that is always healthy. We are progressing to the point where three guys can fit into any one position at any time,” said Louw in reference to his competition with the man who appears to be first choice in his position, Jasper Wiese.
The point about getting three players into a space where they can all fit into position in the starting team and it won’t weaken the side would not have been something Louw dreamed up. That would have been what he has picked up directly from Erasmus during his time in the Bok squad.
LIBBOK WAS IN THE SADDLE IN RECORD WIN
If that is the goal, then it is not easy to predict what selections Erasmus will come up on a weekly basis. And if there is a drive to get the other capable players around him up to speed and experienced, which can only happen by getting game time against the best teams, then it is not beyond the realms of possibility that we might see Manie Libbok, who was good in his No 10 role against Portugal, playing against the All Blacks and not the excellent Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Surely that’s a backward step, Sacha is the rising star and we’ve seen Manie before? Yes, we have seen Libbok, and actually until the wet weather semifinal against England, he cooked at the World Cup. And before that. Right before the World Cup kicked off, Libbok was in the saddle at flyhalf when the Boks played the All Blacks in a warmup game at Twickenham.
Libbok’s passing and willingness to attack the gainline behind an advancing pack played a big role in what turned out to be a record 35-7 win for the Boks against their traditional and biggest rivals. Anyone want to still say that playing Libbok at pivot against the Kiwis would be a risk? He’s talked the talk and walked the walk against them plus he will be playing at his home ground of DHL Stadium.
THERE’S A REASON RASSIE’S KEEPING ABs GUESSING
The feeling that there’s a possibility that Libbok could be backed to face the All Blacks was increased when on Monday it was announced that the Boks would be departing from their accepted practice of the past few years by moving the team announcement from Tuesday to Thursday.
What could be behind that? Well, it could make a big difference to the Bok chances if New Zealand spend the bulk of the buildup week preparing to face a team with Feinberg-Mngomezulu at pivot but they end up playing against Libbok. They are both fine attacking flyhalves, but they are different, with different strengths.
Just as Handre Pollard has different strengths too. Of course, with the double World Cup winner not having started for the Boks since the second test against Ireland in mid-July, we could see Pollard wearing the No 10 too. There’s a good chance of that. Pollard as the starting flyhalf and Libbok playing off the bench is also a distinct possibility.
If Libbok is in the starting team, it won’t necessarily mean Feinberg-Mngomezulu doesn’t play (he word ‘dropped’ doesn’t really apply if the coach is true to his policy). If Erasmus wants three players of international class and with international experience in each position, then he also needs to try out different options at fullback.
Aphelele Fassi has done more than enough in what we could refer to as his international breakthrough season to suggest he should be in the three when it comes to No 15s. Damian Willemse will return from injury and when he does he belongs there too.
Okay, so there is Willie le Roux too, and he hasn’t started that often this season, but Erasmus has admitted that he is not looking at him making it to another World Cup. He’s fulfilling a mentorship role within the squad while moving bit by bit towards his goal of making it to 100 international caps, an ambition Erasmus is happy to accommodate.
SACHA CAN COVER PLACE-KICKING FROM 15
Even though he’s likely to be the starting flyhalf when 2027 and the next World Cup arrives, it will provide an extra string to the Erasmus bow if Feinberg-Mngomezulu has experience at fullback and can join Fassi and Willemse in making it three quality fullback options, with Pollard and Libbok as the flyhalves.
Having Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the last line of defence would take away the goalkicking duties from Libbok, something that might be necessary if the first choice Stormers flyhalf is to become a regular feature in the Bok match day squad. The good thing about Libbok is that he doesn’t let goalkicking failures impact on his all-round game, but he could thrive without the responsibility.
It is possible we could see the theory put to the test against the All Blacks on Saturday. If it does, and concerns about how the resultant lack of continuity might impact on performance aside, it won’t lessen the Bok chances of winning. The name M Libbok appears on the team sheet of the Bok team that holds the record win against New Zealand. He’s too good to become a forgotten man of Bok rugby, and in the Erasmus era there may be no such thing as forgotten men…