Covid hits Boks' Bomb Squad plans

The impact of the Covid outbreak the Springboks had to deal with in the past fortnight is what decided coach Jacques Nienaber against going with the so-called Bomb Squad formula in Saturday’s opening test against the British and Irish Lions at the Cape Town Stadium.

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The six/two split between forwards and backs was pivotal to the Bok success at the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019 and Nienaber did say at the weekend that he would prefer to go with that in the series against the Lions if he could. However, it has turned out that he has had to shelve that plan for now, although there was a strong indication from him at the team announcement press conference on Tuesday that we will see it later in the series.

“We went against the six/two split purely because of the situation,” said Nienaber after naming a match day 23 that includes 19 players who were part of the World Cup final nearly 21 months ago and another two players who were part of that winning extended squad.

“When I refer to the situation what I am saying is that Handre (Pollard) has not had a lot of rugby recently. And Makazole Mapimpi too. Both of them are just back from Covid so we decided that maybe this wasn’t the right time to go with just one back covering on the bench because if we had a problem with one of those guys we could be in trouble.

“The thing about a six/two split is that we will go with it when we feel it is available to us and we are comfortable with it. We have chosen Rynhardt Elstadt as the extra loose-forward and he does provide us with the luxury of having a player who can cover all three back row positions as well as play in the second row should he be needed there.

“Having Rynhardt to do that does mean we can look to that six/two split again in the future, but in this instance, it was all about the readiness of certain players. I am referring to some players perhaps having niggles, other just coming off Covid. If we are not certain that all the players can go 80 minutes then we won’t go six/two as it is too much of a risk. So, we feel that option wasn’t really available to us this week.”

PLEASED TO HAVE SIYA'S CALMNESS

As the makeup of the 23 suggests, the need for some kind of continuity from the World Cup due to the Boks not having played since November 2019 played a big part in Nienaber’s selection. In that regard, he says that he is pleased that regular skipper Siya Kolisi came through his Covid protocols in time to train with the team and be available for Saturday’s test.

“Siya has been with us for a long time, right since 2018 when myself and Rassie joined the Boks, so he has an intimate knowledge of our structures. He knows what we are trying to do from an on-field rugby perspective and he brings some calmness to us to the squad,” said the Bok coach.

Nienaber used the same explanation when asked about the selection of wing Makazole Mapimpi and Lood de Jager, two other World Cup finalists who haven’t played much recently because of Covid and, in De Jager’s case, also a long term injury lay-off.

“Unfortunately, due to circumstances Makazole and Lood weren’t part of our preparation games but both of them have been part of our squad since 2018 and, like Siya, we have worked with them for a long time. We are very comfortable with their ability to just slot right back in,” he said.

COACH EXPLAINS FRONT ROW SELECTIONS

While in general the starting team was largely the one that would have been anticipated once Kolisi was declared ready to play, the selection of the front-row would have surprised many. Trevor Nyakane has struggled as the starting tighthead in the last few games he has played and is used far more effectively by Jake White at the Bulls as an impact substitute, while Ox Nche is starting the test after winning just two caps ahead of the much more experienced Steven Kitshoff.

However, with Erasmus and Nienaber it has never really been a case of the starting players necessarily being seen as more important than the ones that finish the game. As Nienaber explained, who starts and who finishes is decided by the specific role they are asked to fulfil, and they work in tandem.

“I must say with the quality of front rows available, when we have a discussion with front rows see them as a pairing,” said Nienaber. “Is it more important to be on the field for the anthem or the start, or is it more important to be there at the final whistle. We see them as working in tandem and working together to fulfil specific roles.”

Nienaber didn’t explain what those specific roles were but there might be some disquiet among those Bok fans who remember the 2009 series and the role that the then Bok loosehead effectively put the Boks on the front foot towards a series win with his destrcution of the Lions’ Phil Vickery in the first half of the opening test in Durban.

Nienaber says though that he has every confidence in Nyakane, or more specifically he has confidence in his scrum coach Daan Human.

“I am sure Daan sorted that out,” he said in reference to Nyakane’s struggles in the front row in the first half of the South Africa A game against the touring Lions. “I am very comfortable with Trevor at tighthead. He is starting because he has a specific role to play and job we want him to fulfil. He knows what that is.”