The Springboks’ outside chance of reaching their initial stated goal of winning the Castle Lager Rugby Championship won’t be on their minds when they complete the truncated version of the SANZAAR competition by hosting the Pumas in Johannesburg on Saturday.
By the time the game at Emirates Airlines Park kicks off on Saturday evening the Boks will probably already know that the Championship trophy is once again locked away at the New Zealand headquarters in Wellington. It is usually only in World Cup years that it isn’t thus, but the All Black win over the South Africans has made it almost certain that Ian Foster’s men will go into the global tournament as reigning southern hemisphere champions.
An All Black win over struggling Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground earlier in the day will make sure of that, and who is going to bet against the Kiwis, even with the Wallabies likely to be playing in front of a crowd of more than 80 000.
EDDIE’S RIGHT ABOUT THIS ONE
But this being a World Cup year, the Championship is only a bit part of the overall mosaic. History reflects that 2019, when the Boks won the Championship, was an outlier when it comes to southern hemisphere success translating into World Cup success. And hear this from Wallaby coach Eddie Jones: “The Rugby Championship is a glorified pre-season.”
Everyone loves to chide Jones, and he is a master at finding excuses and justification for his team’s failure, but this time he is right. In a few weeks from now the Championship will mean nothing as the teams complete their preparations for France 2023 and Saturday’s game in Johannesburg is the next step in that process for Jacques Nienaber’s World Cup champions.
The Boks have had a week to reflect on the 35-20 defeat that ended their Championship hopes in Auckland but Nienaber has insisted that the result of that game won’t change the plan. He says the team selected for Johannesburg will reflect what he feels is required to beat Argentina.
It would be naive though to think it is only that. There are three more warmup games after this, starting with a return clash with Argentina in Argentina on Saturday week, and game time and experimentation will surely feature in the thinking.
TWO CHANGES EXPECTED AT THE BACK
The initial indications are that the team to be announced on Tuesday will feature two changes to the backline that started in Auckland, with Lukhanyo Am sitting out after two consecutive starts to give Jesse Kriel his first game time of the season. It looks likely that the calls on social media for Kurt-Lee Arendse to be rewarded for his hattrick against Australia by replacing Makazole Mapimpi on the left wing will be answered too.
Given the performance, or failing, of the back three in Auckland, it wouldn’t have surprised had Nienaber moved Damian Willemse to fullback. Willie le Roux finished the game against the All Blacks well as an attacking threat but his first half performance, both in trying to blunt the Kiwi aerial threat and his tackling, was woeful.
CATCH-22 AT FLYHALF
Nienaber though might be in a bit of a catch-22 situation when it comes to flyhalf. Manie Libbok was certainly good enough in the opening Championship clash against the Wallabies in Pretoria to suggest he can be entrusted with the No 10 role in another highveld game. Willemse wasn’t good at Mount Smart Stadium when he started against the All Blacks.
However, while there appears to be general consensus when it comes to the scepticism that Willemse is a flyhalf - I think his best position is No 12 and is also better suited to fullback - it needs to be remembered that the All Black game was his first appearance in that position since his man of the match performance against England at Twickenham last November.
He did not play there at all for the Stormers in the recent Vodacom United Rugby Championship season and would need time to readjust. Moving him away from flyhalf now would subvert any quest to get him more accustomed to the position in preparation for a possible emergency role should Handre Pollard not be able to play in key games in the World Cup.
WILLIAMS IS AN INTERESTING ALTERNATIVE TO FAF
Another interesting point of debate is scrumhalf, where Grant Williams has done well as an impact substitute in both games. If the Boks were looking for a more incisive attacking option than Faf de Klerk, the Sharks player would certainly be an option, but De Klerk’s allround game is likely to keep him ensconced in the No 9 jersey, with the yet to play Jaden Hendrikse his closest challenger.
There has been no talk of any changes at forward for the Argentina game but if you think back to the Wallaby game there wouldn’t be many quibbles with Marco van Staden getting another start at No 6. Duane Vermeulen is also in his best form since 2019, in a Bok jersey, and ditto Pieter-Steph du Toit.
When it comes to Jean Kleyn, who was excellent on debut in the Pretoria game, the game in Argentina appears a good time for him to get another go, with Eben Etzebeth’s lack of recent game time necessitating another start for him in the No 4 jersey. Mention of Etzebeth cues the captaincy issue in the continued absence of regular skipper Siya Kolisi - that should come down to whether or not Vermeulen is starting. If he isn’t, it is likely Etzebeth will continue with the armband.
This week’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship fixtures
Australia v New Zealand (Melbourne, Saturday 11.45)
South Africa v Argentina (Johannesburg, Saturday 17.05)