London - Francois Hougaard is set to pay the price for his error-strewn display against Ireland by losing his Springbok No 9 jersey to Cobus Reinach for Saturday’s Test against England at Twickenham, while Sharks flyhalf Patrick Lambie is one of as many as four more probable changes to the run-on team.
Schalk Burger’s eye-catching impact in the second half of last week’s 29-15 loss will catapult him back into the No 7 jersey at the expense of Teboho Mohoje, who didn’t have a bad game against Ireland, but wasn’t as prominent as he was against the All Blacks, especially with regard to ball-carrying.
And while Bismarck du Plessis’s lineout-throwing was excellent against Ireland, in addition to his ball-carries and strong tackling, the Sharks No 2 is likely to make way for Adriaan Strauss once again this weekend as part of the rotation policy at hooker.
The fifth change will come out wide, where JP Pietersen’s experience and anticipation will be required at right wing against new England speedster Jonny May, who scored a superb solo try against the All Blacks last weekend.
Cornal Hendricks will then have to give up his No 14 jersey, but he will feel unlucky as the ball didn’t go his way in Dublin.
There could be three late changes as well on the eve of the match.
Meyer is sure to name Eben Etzebeth and Marcell Coetzee in the starting line-up on Wednesday, but both players missed training on Tuesday. Etzebeth has picked up a cold and was given medication by team doctor Craig Roberts on Tuesday, and remained behind at the team hotel instead of sitting on the side of the training field.
That resulted in Bakkies Botha running at No 4 lock during practice, and although Etzebeth should recover in time for Saturday’s match, Botha looked sharp during on Tuesday’s session.
Coetzee watched from the sidelines due to “bumps and bruises”, and he is also expected to be ready to play.
But if he can’t, then Mohoje will stay in the team and Burger will shift to openside flank. If that happens, Western Province No 8 Nizaam Carr could come on to the bench and possibly make his Test debut on Saturday, as he ran with the team at times during practice on Tuesday ahead of Warren Whiteley, who was the loose-forward cover during the Rugby Championship.
There was also a bit of an injury scare to tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis during practice on Tuesday.
He had taken a full part until eventually coming off the field, and he appeared to be doing exercises to loosen up a muscle around his left hip area. He was assisted by Bok physiotherapist René Naylor, and did not participate in the practice any further.
It would be a major blow if Du Plessis, who was outstanding against Ireland, were to be ruled out, as England have a powerful scrum. Coenie Oosthuizen would come in at No 3 if Du Plessis can’t play, with Lions rookie Julian Redelinghuys being promoted to the bench.
Meyer said last week that it had been a “big call” to retain Handré Pollard at No 10 for the Ireland Test as Lambie had made a big statement with his match-clinching performances in the latter stages of both Tests against Australia and New Zealand at the end of the Rugby Championship.
The Bok coach said that he wants to hand Lambie a start on this tour, and that is likely to happen at Twickenham on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Sharks pivot ran at No 10 for most of on Tuesday’s training session at the Upper Latymer School sports grounds in central London, and Meyer would want to see Lambie dictate the play against England with tactical kicks, accurate passing and by attacking the advantage line.
Meyer stated after the Ireland defeat the Boks could’ve used the boot more to turn their opponents around, just like Irish No 10 Johnny Sexton did with aplomb on the night, so Lambie will look to bring an extra dimension to the Bok backline.
But it would be tough on Pollard, who tried his best to get things going on attack for the Boks despite receiving poor service from Hougaard.
And Lambie’s halfback partner during practice on Tuesday was Reinach, who will earn his first Test start at the expense of Hougaard.
The Bulls scrumhalf failed to build on his strong performances against the Wallabies and All Blacks in the Rugby Championship with a hesitant evening at the Aviva Stadium at the weekend, where he wasn’t able to clear the rucks quickly and knocked the ball on numerous times.
Hougaard barely used his boot as well to relieve pressure on Pollard, who had been targeted by the Irish defence.
Reinach is quick across the ground and is probably an even better strike-runner than Hougaard, but his biggest challenge will be to provide a quick service from the base for Lambie and take some responsibility with his tactical kicking as well.
These changes are big calls for Meyer to make, but it would’ve been difficult for him to keep the same team that was unable to put Ireland away last week.
The Bok coach said after the Ireland game that this tour will determine “which players will go to the World Cup and who will not”, so Saturday’s Test is a big chance for the likes of Reinach and Lambie to push for permanent starting berths.
Probable Springbok team
15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger / Teboho Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee/ Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth/ Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis/Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen/Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Bakkies Botha/Lood de Jager, 20 Teboho Mohoje/Nizaam Carr, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Cornal Hendricks
Cape Argus