Cape Town – When the Springboks arrive in Dublin on Sunday, Cheslin Kolbe won’t be waiting for them.
Normally the French-based speedster would travel straight from his club to the Bok camp ahead of a Test in Europe, but this time around, he has to fulfil his duties for Toulon.
Kolbe – who celebrated his 29th birthday on Friday – will instead feature for his club in an away French Top 14 clash against Bordeaux late on Sunday night (10.05pm SA time kickoff).
That means he will only probably arrive in the Irish capital late on Monday afternoon, and won’t be in time to train with the national team on the same day.
But the good news is that despite the usual policy that players who aren’t able to participate in a Monday practice wouldn’t be part of the weekend’s match-23, Independent Media have been told by director of rugby Rassie Erasmus – following an enquiry – that Kolbe “will be available for selection for the (Ireland) Test. He will join us as soon as possible after his (Toulon) game”.
And the former Stormers star may line up in a different position in his comeback to the Bok side – having missed the Rugby Championship with a broken jaw – against the Irish in Saturday’s showdown at Aviva Stadium (7.30pm SA time kickoff) as well.
Damian Willemse has now emerged as the first-choice flyhalf for the end-of-year tour due to the absence of Handre Pollard, Elton Jantjies and Frans Steyn, and that has opened up a gap at fullback.
The experienced Willie le Roux would usually return to the starting XV, but with the Boks clearly wanting a more agile and versatile No 15 going forward – which is why Willemse became the No 1 fullback this year – the coaches have a number of different options to consider.
“To filter the World Cup squad down to 33 is difficult. We are playing number one and two in the world now, and I know you shouldn’t take chances in games like that,” Erasmus said following the squad announcement on Friday.
“But these are the actual games where you might try something like this. If a Kurt-Lee (Arendse) and (Makazole) Mapimpi are fully on form and Damian’s playing at 10, then why not play Cheslin at 15? I’m not saying that’s going to happen…
“Kurt-Lee can also play 15 for us, and there are a few guys in the SA A group (as well). But yes, he (Kolbe) is a realistic option to play 15.”
Imagine a back-three of Kolbe, Arendse and Mapimpi? The attacking possibilities are endless with that kind of trio, with all three possessing electric pace, superb decision-making and side-stepping skills.
But they also don’t lack anything in the defence department, as they have all shown an appetite to get stuck in and do the dirty work.
Such a selection would present an entirely different challenge for the Irish, who would expect the Boks to go the conservative route and start with Le Roux.
The home side are masters at employing their possession-based attacking style, even in wet weather.
And Erasmus, having spent a few years in charge of Munster, mentioned on Friday that it rains almost every day in Ireland at this time of the year, and rain is forecast for Dublin for the entire duration of the Boks’ stay in the capital city.
Oh, and Kolbe – who played at fullback regularly for the Stormers – is also seen as one of the back-up flyhalves, so then the South Africans could be even more slippery with ball-in-hand…
IOL Sport