AT least Allister Coetzee has a fit squad to pick from for Saturday’s Rugby Championship match against Australia in Brisbane.
Both Elton Jantjies and Francois Hougaard - who had been nursing injuries - trained with their Bok teammates on Saturday, but until Coetzee names his team for the match on Thursday, their places in the match-day squad will be hotly debated.
Jantjies’s position at flyhalf, in particular, has been discussed the most since the Rugby Championship got under way a few weeks ago.
The Lions No 10 enjoyed an up and down time of it against Ireland in June - after replacing the concussed Pat Lambie - and hasn’t kicked on in the two Rugby Championship matches against Argentina.
His kicking at goal - and tactically - has been questioned, and so, too, his ability to get the best out of the players on his outside. And considering that he left South African shores last Thursday with a thigh injury, his place in the team must be under consideration.
So even though Jantjies has apparently recovered well in the last few days and trained in Brisbane on Saturday, his place in the starting team could be under threat. Morne Steyn came on for him when he got injured in Salta, and while he also failed to perform up to standard, Coetzee may be thinking about shaking things up against the Wallabies.
And that brings us to the selection of Francois Hougaard - an experienced player who knows Steyn better than anyone else in the Bok set-up. Coetzee wouldn’t have picked the former Bulls man and Sevens star if he wasn’t going to use him, so what chance of Hougaard joining Steyn in a new-look halfback pairing for the Boks?
Or, at least, the duo will play off the bench on Saturday. The big loser could be Rudy Paige, who’s done nothing wrong in his time as a bench sitter behind Faf de Klerk, but Hougaard covers scrumhalf, wing and possibly even fullback from the bench - if he’s not used as a starter.
The other major decision facing the Bok boss this week is whether to continue with Adriaan Strauss as captain and first-choice hooker after the Bulls leader announced last Thursday he is to retire from Test rugby at the end of the year.
If Coetzee is to start building a new leadership group for the future then there is no point in continuing with Strauss, which could pave the way for a new captain to be named later this week and also a new man in the No 2 position.
However, the limited captaincy options mean Coetzee may also stick with Strauss for now. An interesting week lies ahead for Coetzee. The Boks have yet to put together a performance of substance this year, but then the Wallabies have also struggled - they have gone six matches on the trot without a win.
“We know the Wallabies will be looking to turn the tables on us this weekend, but we are focusing on ourselves,” Coetzee said at the weekend. “We want to make sure we eliminate the unforced errors (we made in Salta) and deliver a much-improved performance.” – The Mercury