Port Elizabeth - Wing Ruan Combrinck will be rewarded for his Man-of-the-Match cameo last weekend in Johannesburg with his first Springbok start in the third and decisive Test against Ireland at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
The Lions flyer made an immediate impact when he took the field in the second half at Ellis Park, and finished off a great try on debut that sparked the Boks’ comeback to level the series at 1-1.
It is understood that Combrinck will replace Lwazi Mvovo in the starting lineup for Saturday. Mvovo struggled under the high ball in Joburg, although he didn’t get many chances on attack as the South Africans struggled to get going in the first 45 minutes.
Several of the Boks’ senior players have come in for plenty of flak following a couple of below-par performances against the Irish.
And there has been a call for coach Allister Coetzee to pick a side based on form rather than reputation, especially after the impact of Combrinck and his Lions teammates, No 8 Warren Whiteley and tighthead prop Julian Redelinghuys.
Whiteley will come into the starting XV in the absence of the injured Duane Vermeulen, but it seems as if Coetzee is going to give senior players Frans Malherbe and JP Pietersen another chance to show that they are better than what they have delivered the last two weeks.
Openside flank Francois Louw’s performances have also come under the spotlight, especially with the dynamic Jaco Kriel waiting in the wings.
Louw was substituted in the first Test at Newlands after looking a bit rusty. He hadn’t played competitive rugby in a month and looked rather off the pace.
Bath-based Louw wasn’t too impressive in the first half at Ellis Park either, but he was one of the few players who improved in the last quarter of the match.
At his best, Louw is the ideal No 6 for a South African coach. Not only is he great on the ground when contesting or protecting possession, the former Stormers star is also a strong ball-carrier, a formidable defender and a more than useful lineout option.
It seems as if Coetzee is going to back Louw to come good on Saturday, especially after Bok forwards coach Matt Proudfoot praised the 31-year-old’s effort in attacking the breakdown five days ago.
“I think it’s a myth, I can take you through his breakdown clips. I said to him in our one-on-one chat that I thought it was one of the best performances I’ve seen from a No 6 at the first breakdown, and every decision he made in our contact situations was superb,” Proudfoot said.
“I think people look at the game and how much he carries or steals, and judges him only on that, but there are so many different facets to his role.
“A No 6 is not just a fetcher, he controls a lot of contact, makes lots of tackles and has to make good decisions.
“Go look at the New Zealand players in that position, they don’t just fetch; when their wings are looking to chuck the ball inside, that’s where you want your openside flanker to be, and that’s also their role.”
But Kriel has been knocking hard on the Bok door for selection for the last couple of years. He is not a classic fetcher or a scavenger on the ground, but what the Lions loose forward does provide is plenty of X-factor and explosiveness in the contact areas.
He will certainly bring plenty of energy in the last 20 minutes of a rugby match.
“Jaco has been really patient and delivering great performances for the Lions season after season, so he deserves his opportunity and I really hope that he can inject himself into the game in the same manner the bench did last weekend,” Proudfoot said.
“If we can create a bit of space and really put the foot on the accelerator in the second half if we’re in that situation, then I think he’ll be really effective.”