VIDEO: Rassie explains Grobbelaar call, highlights back’s versatility
PARIS, FRANCE: Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx may be world-class, but his injury record is becoming a real concern.
Behind him, there is exciting depth, but with limited Test experience, and therein lies the selection of Johan Grobbelaar against the French at Stade de France on Saturday evening.
It might seem like the Springbok selectors have abandoned the idea of a Marnus van der Merwe or Andre-Hugo Venter, who both featured in the Bok setup in the last year.
But as we have seen, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has his plans well figured out.
Here is how he explained Grobbelaar’s selection for the game against Japan last week, as well as this week, when Rugby365 asked if the Bulls hooker is ready to step up as Marx’s deputy.
“Yes. When you look at the way we have done things, we’ve given Andre-Hugo a chance, and he didn’t disappoint; we won that game against Portugal,” said the coach, adding, “So he is there.”
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“We always have Bongi [Mbonambi] in the back of our minds and know when there are crunch games, we can press on his number.
“Yes, we’ve got a few caps into Marnus, and we played against the All Blacks with Marnus, and he had one of the last turnover steals there.
“We know that Malcolm can get injured at any time. We’ve got Jan-Hendrik [Wessels] who can play loosehead and hooker for us. So that’s five already.
“And again, we are trying to stay in the present and win, but we also want to think about the future. About the 2027 World Cup,” said Erasmus.
Planning well ahead has been one of the cornerstones of Erasmus’s success as a coach. And part of that is making sure the assembly line is always stacked with youngsters who are good enough to earn Test caps and gain experience.
“These kinds of games build confidence for players to make another step up. And we’ve tried it with most of our players.
“There’s always first a Tier Two team, then maybe a team that ranks seventh or eighth in the world, and then maybe into a pressure cooker.
“And then onto the bigger stage, like the French. And with him [Johan Grobbelaar] having Gerhard [Steenekamp] and Wilco [Louw] next to him, whom he scrums with all the time [at the Bulls], and Ruan [Nortje] coming off the bench with RG [Snyman], he is pretty used to those guys [as well].
“And he is 27, he is really fit, and he has done nothing to disappoint us.
“So maybe just get through this game, then we know we’ve got five or six hookers that we can bank on when we go to the World Cup.”
The coach also explained the reasoning behind Andre Esterhuizen being included as a replacement and not one of his Bomb Squad stars, Kwagga Smith.
“The bad thing for Andre was to get into the match-23 when he was just covering No.12. We have Damian de Allende, Damian Willemse, Handre [Pollard], who can all play 12, Ethan [Hooker] can play 12, Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezule] can play 12, as can Lukhanyo [Am].
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“So for Andre to make the match-23 with his athleticism and physicality, it’s either he starts [or he is out] because you seldom put a No.12 on the bench.
“He has played 12 all his life, but we’ve slowly given him a trial against a Tier two team, against the Barbarians, and then against Japan, fully going into six. And he is now used to all the mauling and line-out calls,” Erasmus explained.
He also said if the game goes according to plan against the French with a 6-2 split with massive men, the Boks would probably need Esterhuizen among the forwards.
“But if there’s an early injury at 12, he will probably go to 12. That is just the option that really helps us, and that is where a guy like Kwagga [Smith] missed out.
“If Kwagga was playing, we would’ve taken some chances if we had an injury at wing, then Kwagga would’ve had to help out there. And he did it wonderfully before.
“But now you have a true backline player who can play six and eight.”
