Five Boks who need big performances

OPINION: The Springboks have dealt with the All Blacks, winning the historic Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series three-one; now the Wallabies are their next assignment.

Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus went against his usual trend and stuck to largely the same core group during the four Tests against the All Blacks.

The team to face the Wallabies, as expected, features a number of players who either got limited game time during the series, or didn’t feature at all.

We look at five players who need to deliver big performances, for different reasons, against Australia.

*Also read: Rassie hints at position shift for Malcolm Marx

Aphelele Fassi

He is probably the player who has the most to make up for in the Bok jersey.

Fassi was far from his best the last time he donned the Springbok jersey.

Against Argentina in Buenos Aires, he struggled with his kicking and was guilty of too many handling errors, and the fact that he had a hand in the first try couldn’t even make up for everything he got wrong.

If something different had to be done at No.15, Quan Horn would have been a justifiable choice.

Andre Esterhuizen

Inside centre, blindside flanker, hybrid, and now Springbok captain.

The 32-year-old will add to his Bok adjectives when he runs out to captain the team on Sunday, becoming the 68th player to do so when he partners Canan Moodie in midfield.

Esterhuizen, who will also lead the Sharks this season, will skipper the team featuring 13 changes to the run-on side that defeated New Zealand in fine style in Baltimore.

Nobody ever wants to have an off game, but this is one in particular where he’ll want to shine, especially knowing what Siya Kolisi’s presence can do for the team.

Continues below…

Team Talk: The ‘Giant’ Esterhuizen call will boost Boks in long termhttps://t.co/jksbmH4hyf

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Handre Pollard

The Bok veteran forms one third of the Springbok flyhalf triumvirate and will no doubt want to have a big one after not playing against the All Blacks.

He was named to start in the Cape Town Test, but was swapped out for Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who started in all the games against the Kiwis, due to a calf niggle.

Pollard last played for the Boks when he came off the bench against Los Pumas, and while he hasn’t played in a while, there is a just case to be made for Manie Libbok to have started in this Test.

Libbok came off the bench in all four games against New Zealand and, unsurprisingly, he was the key to the Boks’ attack.

Marco van Staden

Van Staden will start at the back of the scrum in a rather unfamiliar position for the Boks.

While it won’t be his first run at No.8, he has massive shoes to fill after Jasper Wiese’ top-notch displays in the Bok jersey this year.

Wiese is also up for his 50th, and that alone puts some pressure on Van Staden to do the most in his time on the pitch. Wiese certainly will.

Continues below…

#SPOTLIGHT: Rassie addresses the Marco van Staden decision 👇#Australia #Wallabies #SouthAfrica #Springboks #AUSvRSA https://t.co/CnqcSF2QX5

— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) September 23, 2026

Elrigh Louw

Nobody comes close to Pieter-Steph du Toit when he is fit and available, so the No.7 position is locked down.

And that’s exactly where the challenge lies.

While Du Toit is a given and irreplaceable at the moment, his second-in-command isn’t.

The Bulls man has another opportunity to solidify himself as the official No.7 heir apparent, and while there is technically nothing on the line in this game, Louw and the other players who are eager to make statements would beg to differ.

Worth a mention: The whole new front row

Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, and Ox Nche’s names tell a story all on their own. And so too do Thomas du Toit and Gerhard Steenekamp.

While Marx has italicised, underlined, and highlighted his name as the best hooker in the world, there is a good few kilometres between him and every other hooker, and all his replacement has to do is prove he is worthy of backing him up.

The incoming props face an equally challenging project after what went down against New Zealand.

Zachary Porthen is a young, promising prop; Johan Grobbelaar and Jan-Hendrik Wessels are hungry for game time after their limited Test exposure recently, so statements are theirs to be made, especially after what the more experienced front row produced against the All Blacks.