Johannesburg - At least Allister Coetzee has a fit squad to pick from for this Saturday’s Rugby Championship match against Australia in Brisbane.
Both Elton Jantjies and Francois Hougaard – who had been nursing injuries – trained with their Bok team-mates on Saturday, but until Coetzee names his team for the match on Thursday their places in the matchday squad will be hotly debated.
Jantjies’ position at flyhalf, in particular, has been discussed the most since the Rugby Championship got underway 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 men on his outside and considering 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 at present. 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 – one of the few players who’ve lived up their potential - 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.
The limited captaincy options – right now only Warren Whiteley springs to mind as a genuine candidate, even though Juan de Jongh and Oupa Mohoje may disagree – means Coetzee will possibly stick with Strauss for now, but he may well give the likes of Bongi Mbonambi and Malcolm Marx more of a run in the coming two Tests. Duane Vermeulen would be the other captaincy candidate when he is again fit.
An interesting and big week lies ahead for Coetzee and his charges. They’ve yet to put together a performance of substance this year, but then the Wallabies have also struggled – they’ve in fact gone six matches on the trot now without a win.
Coetzee knows Michael Cheika and his men are in an equally desperate state. “We know the Wallabies will be looking to turn the tables on us this weekend, but we are focusing on ourselves and we want to make sure we eliminate the unforced errors (we made in Salta) and deliver a much-improved performance,” said Coetzee at the weekend.
He added his players had already benefitted from their early arrival in Australia. “I am very happy we’ve come a few days earlier than usual. It allowed us to get in a good session on Saturday ... and that after crossing several time zones the past few days ... first flying to Argentina and back home and then down to Australia.”
The Boks had the day off yesterday and will resume their on-field preparations today at the Anglican Church School. Coetzee will name his matchday squad on Thursday afternoon.
Meanwhile, wing Henry Speight and lock Rory Arnold have been included in Cheika’s Wallabies squad for upcoming Tests against South Africa and Argentina, with four uncapped players also named.
Speight, 28, returns to the squad after playing for Australia’s rugby Sevens side at the Rio Olympics, while Arnold has overcome an elbow injury to feature and will look to build on strong showings in his two Tests to date.
Fiji-born Sefa Naivalu of the Melbourne Rebels is yet to complete his nationality switch, but will train with the squad before becoming eligible on September 18 and is one of four uncapped inclusions alongside Kyle Godwin, Lopeti Timani and Tom Robertson.
Cheika has already handed debuts to seven players in 2016, but his inexperienced squad has also lost 116-cap Adam Ashley-Cooper, who has returned to France for the 2016-17 Top 14 season with Bordeaux Begles.
Matt Giteau, Ben McCalman, Matt Toomua and Rob Horne miss out due to injury, but fit-again Luke Morahan returns.
The Wallabies meet South Africa in Brisbane, on Sept. 10 before facing Argentina in Perth on Saturday Sept. 17.
Cape Times