SA club stars have everything to gain against All Blacks

OPINION: Fringe players will have the chance to push for Springbok places when they represent their franchises against the All Blacks in the coming weeks.

Over the past few months, critics and fans have made their predictions ahead of the inaugural Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour to South Africa.

Most of these predictions have focused on the four-Test series, which will be staged in the last four weeks of the eight-game tour.

Some have predicted a 4-0 sweep for the Springboks, while others have backed the All Blacks to win one or two matches.

Very few have predicted a series win for the All Blacks – which is hardly surprising, given that the Boks have won five of their last six Tests against New Zealand.

Meanwhile, expectations have been tempered ahead of the All Blacks’ tour matches against the Stormers (August 7), Sharks (August 11), Bulls (August 15) and Lions (August 25).

New Zealand should sweep South Africa’s leading clubs, and anything less than a 4-0 result will prompt further questions about the All Blacks’ ability to survive a gruelling Test series against the Boks.

Perhaps the Stormers will catch the All Blacks out in the first fixture of the tour, before the visitors have had time to settle.

Perhaps the Sharks will punish a second-string combination just four days later.

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The Bulls could expose the All Blacks’ lack of experience in highveld conditions, and the Lions could surprise a weakened touring team, given that Dave Rennie’s best players may be cotton-wooled ahead of the second Test in Cape Town.

It’s possible, but highly unlikely – and for now, a 4-0 sweep of the franchises seems a safe bet.

It remains to be seen whether Erasmus will release a few players when the Boks return from Argentina next week.

But it’s more than likely that the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions will face the All Blacks without most of their stars.

With that in mind, perhaps the franchises – and the All Blacks for that matter – should be judged by the quality of their performances rather than the results in the coming fixtures.

Erasmus will be monitoring these performances closely, and may be interested to see how the fringe players fare against the best New Zealand has to offer.

The Bok coach trimmed his squad in the wake of the Nations Championship last month – but made it clear that five of the players will remain on standby in the lead-up to the Test series against the All Blacks.

In the event of injuries, those players will move up the pecking order, and by the time the four-Test block commences on August 22, they may find themselves in the matchday 23.

Evan Roos could boost his cause with an outstanding performance for the Stormers against the All Blacks this Friday.

The No.8 sits behind Jasper Wiese, Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom in the Bok pecking order, but has been one of the most influential players in club rugby over the past 12 months.

André-Hugo Venter finds himself in a similar situation as the Boks’ fourth-choice hooker.

A solid set-piece showing against the All Blacks should increase Venter’s chances of selection later this month. Given the high rate of attrition in the front-row, there’s a fair chance that the 24-year-old will receive a call-up towards the end of the Test series.

Flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed started for South Africa ‘A’ against Zimbabwe last month before going on to steer the Junior Boks to their second successive world title in Georgia.

The Boks are well covered at No.10 at present, but if Ahmed has a blinder on Friday, Erasmus may be inclined to fast-track the 20-year-old later this season.

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Utility back Jaco Williams shone on debut against Wales last month, and should be aiming to back up that performance with a solid outing for the Sharks against the All Blacks next week.

It remains to be seen whether Vusi Moyo will be released by the Boks – but given his relative lack of experience at the professional level, the 20-year-old flyhalf would surely benefit from a run with the Sharks next Tuesday.

Moyo wasn’t included in the Bok squad selected for the one-off against Argentina this Saturday, which suggests he is available for the All Blacks fixture next week.

The Sharks boast a clutch of players who are on the borderline of Test selection, and Phepsi Buthelezi, Vincent and Manu Tshituka should be keen to impress against a multi-talented All Blacks pack.

The fixture between the Bulls and the All Blacks could be one of the most important matches of the tour, in that it will provide some of the visitors with their first experience of altitude.

Perhaps Erasmus will release some of his Boks for this match – if they haven’t been earmarked for Test selection at Ellis Park a week later.

Embrose Papier is one of the players currently on standby. If Papier is backed at No.9 for the Bulls, he will have the chance to make a statement in what should be an intriguing tactical battle between the halfbacks.

Unless there is a specific plan for Quan Horn in the coming internationals, Erasmus could release the versatile back to the Lions ahead of the midweek match against the All Blacks – which will be staged between the first and second Test.

Haashim Pead, Nico Steyn, Batho Hlekani and Siba Mahashe all featured for SA ‘A’ against Zimbabwe last month, and will have a fair idea of what Erasmus is looking for after spending some time in the Bok camp.

Few will expect the Lions to beat the All Blacks, but a local line-up stacked with explosive players should fire a few shots.

The respective franchise coaches may gain some valuable answers about their players and combinations in the coming weeks – with a view to the club season that follows.

Players with the potential to feature in the four-Test series will receive valuable game time, as well as an opportunity to sharpen their skills against the best from New Zealand.

The results are unlikely to go the franchises’ way, but the exercise may serve South African rugby in the short and long term.