Bok bench conundrum: Will Rassie stick or twist?

OPINION: The make-up of the Springbok forward contingent may be more important than the selection at flyhalf for the key tour fixture against France this Saturday.

Should Rassie Erasmus start Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in Paris, and should he deploy Handré Pollard – South Africa’s most accurate goal-kicker – from the bench in the final quarter?

Should Manie Libbok have some role to play, given his stellar performance against France in the 2023 World Cup quarterfinal?

These are important questions ahead of a showdown between the current Rugby Championship and Six Nations champions.

And we will have an answer on Thursday, when Erasmus announces his team.

Who is best suited to take the fight to the French from the outset, and who has the skill and the fortitude to slot a match-winning goal-kick?

On form as well as reputation, Feinberg-Mngomezulu is the favourite to start and Pollard the best bet to finish.

The tougher selection may be up front, as Erasmus looks to plug a few gaps and settle on a bench dynamic, in light of recent injuries and suspensions.

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Three weeks ago, Erasmus may have had a preferred matchday 23 in mind for the Test against France in Paris.

If the Rugby Championship is any indicator, the starting pack may have been Ox Nché, Malcolm Marx, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Ruan Nortje, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese.

The bench may have featured an all-Bulls front row of Gerhard Steenekamp, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Wilco Louw, with RG Snyman and Kwagga Smith providing further cover for the forwards.

And with the Boks using a five-three bench split in the last three games against France, and in seven out of 11 matches this Test season, Erasmus may have persisted with this formation in Paris.

Yet here we are, a few days away from the crunch match, and the Boks are without two key players.

Wessels has been ruled out of the five-game tour after copping a ban for alleged foul play in a recent United Rugby Championship match against Connacht.

The Bulls may take the matter further in order to clear the player’s name, but the versatile front-ranker looks set to miss the remainder of the Test season.

On Sunday afternoon, the Boks confirmed that Nché has sustained a serious leg injury and has returned to South Africa for scans.

The first-choice loosehead prop has been ruled out for the rest of the tour.

The Boks are already without veteran props of the calibre of Frans Malherbe and Trevor Nyakane.

Ntuthuko Mchunu and Neethling Fouché are two more who are yet to return from injury.

Asenathi Ntlabakanye has linked up with the squad in Paris in order to provide front-row cover, but may not be considered until later in the tour.

So how might Erasmus assemble his pack for the battle with France?

The good news is that UK-based props Thomas du Toit and Boan Venter will be available for selection this weekend, after missing the clash against Japan due to the fact that it fell outside the Test window.

Grobbelaar wore the No.16 jersey against Japan and seems likely to continue in the role.

Erasmus has mentioned that flanker Marco van Staden may also be an option, having done the job before.

Like Ntlabakanye, Bongi Mbonambi played for the Barbarians against the All Blacks XV on Saturday, and is on the official standby list.

Erasmus seems unlikely to deploy the 21-year-old Zachary Porthern, who made his debut against Japan, in a Test of this nature.

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Du Toit may replace Porthen at No.3 with Louw continuing from the bench – in a dynamic that proved successful in the recent Rugby Championship.

The decision at loosehead is potentially trickier.

The Boks have used Steenekamp almost exclusively as an impact player during his short Test career.

The selectors may opt to persist with Steenekamp in that role, as well as an all-Bulls front row of Steenekamp, Grobbelaar and Louw on the bench.

Boan Venter could be the best man to replace Nché in the starting side, alongside Marx and Du Toit.

Venter, Marx and Du Toit started together in the recent Rugby Championship clash against Argentina in Durban.

Like the rest of us, France coach Fabien Galthié may be wondering exactly who Erasmus will select – in the front row and across his forward contingent.

Erasmus may move away from the five-three bench split that has been favoured in recent matches against Les Bleus and opt for a different dynamic.

Will France’s lengthy injury list influence the Bok selections?

The French are currently missing backline players of the calibre of Antoine Dupont, Matthieu Jalibert and Thomas Ramos.

And yet, more should be read into the absence of forwards such as Peato Mauvaka, Uini Atonio and Charles Ollivon.

France have outstanding depth, but it would be a stretch to suggest that they are coming into this Nations Series with any momentum – after touring New Zealand with a weakened side in July and losing all three Tests.

It will be interesting to see how Galthié selects his team this week, and whether he persists with the forward-heavy benches that made such an impact in the 2025 Six Nations.

Earlier this year, France favoured a seven-one bench split in matches against Ireland, Italy and Scotland – and went on to win all three Tests.

Galthié backed the six-two split in the loss to England and in the win against Wales.

Knowing that, will Erasmus stick or twist when selecting his own bench?

Will he persist with Snyman and Smith as the other two forwards on a five-three bench, or favour a Bomb Squad including six or seven heavies?

Will he announce André Esterhuizen as Player No.23, and then decide on the day whether the hybrid player plays flank or centre, and ultimately whether the Boks include five or six forwards on the bench?

Could we see Erasmus going to a new extreme – at least where matches against France are concerned – and naming an extra lock (possibly De Jager) or loose forward (Van Staden) on the bench, along with the versatile Esterhuizen?

In that event, the Boks may go into the match with a six-two split – if Esterhuizen plays centre – or a seven-one split – if he plays flank.

The above may be contingent on Damian Willemse’s availability, as the double World Cup-winning fullback would have to cover Feinberg-Mngomezulu at flyhalf.

That would be risky, of course, as it would mean selecting only one specialist flyhalf and goal-kicker in the match 23.

Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber have gambled before, picking a seven-one bench in the 2023 World Cup Final.

But on that occasion, their best goal-kicker in Pollard, was on the field from the outset.

On this occasion, the risk may outweigh the reward.

Erasmus may remember how a few missed goal-kicks cost the Boks in the narrow losses to France and Ireland when the South Africans last toured Europe in 2022.

It may be wiser to stick with what has worked for much of the 2025 season – although the addition of Esterhuizen may give the Boks more options.

Erasmus has developed a reputation for his shrewd selections.

It will be interesting to see how he adjusts his plans in light of recent setbacks, and how the losses of Nché and Wessels influence the bench dynamic for one of the biggest games of the season.