Bok coach explains Jantjies and Nché omissions

REACTION: Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber has opened up on some of the missing names from his matchday squad list for Saturday’s series decider against Wales in Cape Town.

Flyhalf Elton Jantjies, who only played 40 minutes in the No.10 jersey in the first Test, and prop Retshegofaditswe ‘Ox’ Nché, who started at loosehead in that same Test, both failed to make the cut this week.

Both players also didn’t feature in their team’s 12-13 defeat in the second Test in Bloemfontein.

Jantjies produced a shocking in the first half of South Africa’s 32-29 win in Pretoria a couple of weeks ago. Damian Willemse, who started at fullback in that match, was eventually asked to take over the flyhalf duties for the remainder of the first Test.

After that match, Nienaber defended Jantjies by explaining that the 31-year-old didn’t have enough game time this year.

With the Rugby Championship just around the corner, it might have made sense to give Jantjies another opportunity off the bench in the second Test or the upcoming third Test against Wales.

When asked why Jantjies was not considered for the decider, Nienaber said: “He probably misses out because we are going with six/two splits [on the bench].

“If we go five/three, then Elton would have probably been in the mix.

“That is unfortunately where we are.

“I thought it was so important for us to give him some game time [in the first Test] and with Handre [Pollard] only arriving on that Sunday it was the ideal opportunity for us and he has been working with us.

“Yes, he has got 40 minutes. I think the conservative way of selection from our coaching group would have probably been to go with a five-three split. But if we did that, we probably wouldn’t have seen Gaza [Damian Willemse] play No10, so we decided to stick with the six/two split and that is unfortunately where we are.”

#⃣REACTION: Current form and not past performances played a role in the selection of the team for the decisive third #Test between #SouthAfrica and @WelshRugbyUnion in #CapeTown on #Saturday #Rugby 🏉#RugbyUnion🌍@Springboks 🏅#RSAvWAL 🇿🇦V🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
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— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) July 12, 2022

Shuffling front rows

Meanwhile, after playing in the No.3 jersey in the second Test, Trevor Nyakane has been shifted over to loosehead for Saturday’s third Test.

Many fans and pundits were expecting Nché to return to the No.1 jersey this week, but Nienaber looked at past results when he made his decision.

“We are fortunate with the front rows that we have,” said Nienaber.

“Last week Thomas [du Toit] started at loosehead, but he played the majority of his rugby at tighthead and it’s the same with someone like Trevor.

“We are fortunate that we can have a player of that quality that can produce at loosehead and tighthead.

“It’s a coin toss between the two [Nyakane and Nche].

“I thought Ox played well in the first Test and I thought Trevor was equally as good in the second Test.

“We just decided to go with the front row that we used in the past and we got some good results with that. That is why we went that route.”

@rugby365com

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#ICYMI: Wales are sweating over the fitness of captain Dan Biggar ahead of their series-deciding third Test against South Africa in Cape Town on Saturday. #Wales #SouthAfrica #Springboks #RSAvWAL https://t.co/Tqu9idiboC

— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) July 13, 2022