Bok back row questions persist

OPINION: Kwagga Smith and Elrigh Louw will offer the Springboks two very different options at No.8 on what promises to be a journey of tactical discovery to Australia, writes Jon Cardinelli.

On Tuesday, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus unveiled his 33-man squad for the first leg of the Rugby Championship.

The announcement was accompanied by an official statement, highlighting that 22 of these players have already won the World Cup and that a third of the group selected to travel to Australia is relatively young and inexperienced.

The Boks may be desperate to end their five-year Rugby Championship title drought, as well as their unsuccessful run in the Freedom Cup series against New Zealand (more on this in a minute).

But as Erasmus himself has repeatedly stated, development is one of his priorities, and the age profile of this team has to change before the 2027 World Cup.

With the quest for results and development in mind, it’s a fascinating squad selected for the Tests in Brisbane and Perth.

A large group of players will remain in South Africa ahead of the subsequent matches against the All Blacks.

The injured contingent – which includes prop Steven Kitshoff, locks Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager, scrumhalves Faf de Klerk and Jaden Hendrikse, as well as outside backs Canan Moodie and Edwill van der Merwe – will be given more time to recover, while the banned No.8 Jasper Wiese and centre André Esterhuizen will wait for their suspensions to elapse.

Several other players have been sent back to their franchises, and have presumably dropped down the pecking order.

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LOUW STOCKS RISE

Evan Roos and Phepsi Buthelezi trained with the senior squad throughout the Ireland series, but Roos only featured against Wales and Portugal, and Buthelezi against Os Lobos.

There may be a plan for both of these young loose forwards in the long term, but for now, they seem to be surplus to requirements.

The Bok coaches have spoken about striking out in a bold attacking direction and showed some promising signs in the recent Tests.

They may push forward with these plans against a rebuilding Wallabies side in Australia, and then revert to a more balanced approach when facing the All Blacks in South Africa.

Much of their success will depend on the efficiency of their forwards and their loose forwards in particular.

Looking at the squad selected, Kwagga Smith – who started at No.8 in both Tests against Ireland – could be retained in what is a key position in the Bok game plan.

Alternatively, the Boks may look to Elrigh Louw, a powerfully built player who offers more options – including an extra jumper at the line-out.

Based on his cameo against Portugal, Louw appears to have leapt ahead of Roos in the No.8 pecking order.

The Bulls’ loose forward featured prominently on the blindside flank during the recent United Rugby Championship campaign – with rising star Cameron Hanekom starting at No.8.

And yet, Erasmus showed his hand last month, when he announced a wider training group ahead of the Tests, and listed Louw as a No.8, and Hanekom as a flank.

It remains to be seen how all of these different players will come together to form a potent back-row combination.

Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit should provide stability as an experienced flank combo.

If the Boks are without Du Toit, Ben-Jason Dixon could fill the void at blindside, and then one of Smith or Louw – two very different players – could pack down at No.8.

A few of the players selected for the tour to Australia are carrying injuries sustained in the recent two-match series against Ireland.

In the wake of the second Test in Durban, Erasmus suggested that Du Toit, wing Cheslin Kolbe and hooker Malcolm Marx may only be available for selection ahead of the second Test against the Wallabies in Perth.

Perhaps the players have made progress with their respective ailments, and perhaps they will recover in time for the tour-opener in Brisbane.

But then again, perhaps the uncertainty around this crucial trio has influenced other selections, and the make-up of the squad as a whole.

COVER OPTIONS MAY BE FAST-TRACKED

Few will argue that Dixon has earned a promotion on the back of strong showings against Wales and Portugal.

If Du Toit doesn’t recover fully, Dixon may well find himself in the No.7 jersey for the first Test against the Wallabies.

Hookers Bongi Mbonambi and Johan Grobbelaar – who won his first cap last week – could feature in Brisbane, if Marx doesn’t bounce back.

Jan-Hendrik Wessels made his debut at loosehead prop against Portugal, but will provide a fourth hooker option, should Marx struggle to regain full fitness on tour. Erasmus has spoken about the player’s rare ability to cover loosehead and hooker on several occasions already.

Makazole Mapimpi may replace Kolbe if the Boks’ star wing doesn’t recover sufficiently ahead of the first Test.

Willie le Roux should be back at No.15, although Erasmus has opted for extra fullback cover in Aphelele Fassi.

Salmaan Moerat and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are the only players who have featured in all four Tests this season.

While Moerat has been identified as an important lock and leader for the future, the absence of De Jager and Mostert – and other options like Jean Kleyn and Jason Jenkins – will ensure that he receives more opportunities in the short term.

These injuries have opened a door for Bulls No.5 Ruan Nortje, and he may well be fast-tracked to the bench – and may even start, should RG Snyman break down at some point on tour.

The injury-enforced absence of Damian Willemse has necessitated a promotion for Le Roux at No.15, and opened up a spot on the bench.

The versatile Feinberg-Mngomezulu has thrived in this role over the first four Tests, coming off the bench to feature at flyhalf against Wales, Ireland (in Pretoria) and Portugal, and at fullback in the decider against the Irish in Durban.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu may be South Africa’s future at No.10.

Right now, he is the man for the No.23 jersey – especially with two specialist flyhalves, Handré Pollard and Manie Libbok, in the squad.

His versatility will give the Boks the option of picking a six-two bench – although they usually favour a five-three formation against Australia. As seen in the recent matches, the 22-year-old has the skills as well as the composure to make an impact in the latter stages of a game.

It will be interesting to see whether he is backed to slot in at inside centre, though, should something happen to Damian de Allende – the only specialist No 12 in the 33-man squad.

It’s the one area where the Boks are thin, given that Esterhuizen was not considered after receiving a red card against Portugal.

If the worst-case scenario comes to pass, Erasmus may have to move Pollard to No.12, or start Pollard or Libbok at No 10 with Feinberg-Mngomezulu at inside centre.

At scrumhalf, Reinach is rightly listed as a double World Cup-winner and one of the veterans in the squad, but hasn’t enjoyed an extended run in recent years.

This tour should be viewed as an opportunity, even though two fine scrumhalf options in De Klerk and Hendrikse will come back into the selection frame later in the tournament.

It’s interesting to note that all three of the scrumhalf options in the current squad – Reinach, Grant Williams and newcomer Morné van den Berg – are known for their attacking exploits rather than their kicking.

This may aid South Africa on their new attacking journey in Australia, but stronger game managers may be needed for the All Blacks. With regards to the latter, Reinach and co will be under pressure to mix up their approach.

REACHING A WATERSHED

There are a lot of moving parts, and Erasmus would do well to manage them over the next month or so.

The Wallabies have dropped down to ninth in the Test rankings, but the Boks can’t afford to be complacent. Better and more experienced South African teams have travelled to Australia in recent years, and have returned empty-handed.

With that in mind, perhaps Erasmus has got the balance right, in terms of the players he has selected for the tour and the players he has decided to leave behind in South Africa.

Every individual is playing for a squad place ahead of the series against New Zealand, and beyond.

Whether they receive an opportunity Down Under, or in the more familiar settings of Ellis Park and Cape Town Stadium against the All Blacks, they should realise that South African rugby is reaching a watershed.

It may sound brutal given what many of these players have already achieved, but some of them won’t survive the post-Rugby Championship cut.

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