Cape Town - The Springboks have suffered two significant injury blows ahead of the Rugby Championship after both Frans Malherbe and Siya Kolisi were ruled out of action for three months on Wednesday.
Malherbe was the starting tighthead prop and Kolisi the blindside flank throughout the three-Test series against Ireland in June, and would’ve most likely remained in the saddle for the Rugby Championship opener against Argentina on August 20 in Nelspruit.
The Stormers announced on Wednesday that co-captain Malherbe’s troublesome neck injury, which kept him sidelined for three weeks recently, will now keep him out for three months.
His absence in particular is a major loss for Bok coach Allister Coetzee as only the Lions’ Julian Redelinghuys is readily available as a worthy replacement in the starting line-up.
Vincent Koch did produce a few strong performances in the last few weeks of Super Rugby, but that came against the Rebels, Force and Kings and he was unable to attain the same level of dominance in the quarter-final defeat to the Chiefs at Newlands last weekend.
Koch has anyway moved to Saracens in England now at the conclusion of the Super Rugby competition, and wasn’t part of the Bok squad in June, and his decision to go overseas will count against him when it comes to selection as Coetzee has made it clear that he will look at home first before picking someone based in another country.
That could open the door for Sharks tighthead Lourens Adriaanse to be the back-up to Redelinghuys in the coming months. The “fascination” with Coenie Oosthuizen as a tighthead at Test level simply has to come to an end, and that should be the case at Super Rugby as well.
While Oosthuizen is good in the loose, he is a liability in the scrums at tighthead and has struggled throughout in the set-pieces for the Sharks. Adriaanse has provided the necessary stability to the Sharks scrum whenever starting or replacing Oosthuizen during a match.
Oosthuizen was called up to the Bok squad as cover for the Irish series decider in Port Elizabeth for Trevor Nyakane (ankle injury), but was not required as Steven Kitshoff was chosen as the reserve loosehead and Redelinghuys at tighthead on the bench.
Oosthuizen is an excellent loosehead, but it is believed that a neck problem prevents him from packing down regularly on the left-hand side of the scrum.
What also counts in Adriaanse’s favour is the fact that he has previous Test experience, having earned a solitary cap against France in Paris in November 2013. The 28-year-old is a formidable scrummager in the old-school mode, and does his fair share of defensive work around the rucks as well.
Redelinghuys has been terrific for the Lions in their charge to the Super Rugby semi-finals, and was unlucky not to play ahead of Malherbe in June as the Stormers man battled in the scrums and gave away a number of penalties at the breakdowns as well.
But Coetzee would’ve probably stuck with Malherbe at No 3 in the Rugby Championship, due to their close relationship from the Stormers in the past, as well as the 15 Test caps’ worth of experience that the 25-year-old boasts.
Things are a little less clear cut at blindside flank, though, after Kolisi went under the knife on Tuesday and was also ruled out for three months. He was also in the starting side for all three Bok Tests in June, but there wasn’t a specialist blindside flank in the squad as back-up.
The inspired choice at No 7 could be Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who has been outstanding for the Stormers. Notshe has mainly operated at openside flank in Super Rugby this year, but has played most of his senior rugby at No 8.
However, his express pace for a loose forward and increased physicality this season may be just what the Boks need at blindside flank. The South African loose trio looked unwieldy and slow against Ireland, with overseas-based Duane Vermeulen and Francois Louw well below-par following long seasons in Europe.
Lions skipper Warren Whiteley was a breath of fresh air when he came on for Vermeulen in the second Test at Ellis Park, injecting speed and skill into the Bok attack as he functioned as an ideal link between forwards and backs.
Coetzee, though, holds Vermeulen in high regard, so another option against Argentina could be to utilise the Toulon star at No 7, thereby retaining Whiteley at the back of the scrum.
Jaco Kriel was the other loose forward in the June Bok squad, but is primarily an openside flank, while Oupa Mohoje is some way off his 2014 form this year.
Meanwhile, the Stormers injury report also stated that loose forward Nizaam Carr will be out for another two weeks with a shoulder injury, so he may miss Western Province’s Currie Cup opener against the Blue Bulls at Loftus next Friday.