Cape Town — The chance to work with SA and Japanese-based players during the Springbok training camp in Stellenbosch this week could influence coach Jacques Nienaber’s selection for next Saturday’s Test against Ireland in Dublin.
Most of the top Boks have had some sort of a break following the end of the Rugby Championship on September 24, although it was arguably not long enough.
Some of the players who attended the camp have played for their franchises in the United Rugby Championship (URC) in recent weeks, while those at Japanese clubs have had a complete rest.
So, the likes of Malcolm Marx, Lood de Jager, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kwagga Smith, Franco Mostert, Faf de Klerk, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel and Willie le Roux will be at the front of the queue to be part of the match-23 for the Irish Test at the Aviva Stadium.
Nienaber will announce a 34-man squad on Friday morning that will leave Johannesburg on Saturday night for Dublin, while another 20-man group will form the core of the SA ‘A side that will travel to Cork next week Saturday ahead of their tour game against Munster.
But exactly how will the Bok mentor slice and dice the starting XV against Ireland? With Damian Willemse now the first-choice flyhalf in the absence of the injured Handre Pollard and the unavailable Elton Jantjies, the coaches are sure to revert to the experience Le Roux at fullback — especially as he trained with almost the entire likely backline in Stellenbosch.
That group was made up of Le Roux, Kriel, De Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Willemse and Jaden Hendrikse.
The one question mark is at right wing, which is a complicated situation. Cheslin Kolbe has now played three matches for Toulon — scoring two tries — in his comeback from a broken jaw over the last few weeks, and he would ordinarily walk back into the starting line-up.
But the former Stormers star — who will celebrate his 29th birthday on Friday — will have to turn out for his club late on Sunday night against Bordeaux.
That means that he is unlikely to make it in time to train with the Boks in Dublin on Monday, and the national side do have a general policy that if a player can’t train on a Monday, they normally won’t be selected.
But Kolbe’s absence is not injury-related, so it will be interesting to see whether Nienaber does pick him at No 14 at Tuesday’s team announcement.
There is, of course, a ready-made replacement in Bulls excitement machine Kurt-Lee Arendse, who was also in Stellenbosch this week, while the more experienced Sbu Nkosi was at the camp as well — although he has only played a single game for the Bulls this season, and won’t be Test-match sharp yet.
And while Willemse will start against Ireland, Johan Goosen needs to prove he is totally recovered from concussion for the Bulls against the Sharks on Sunday to be the bench back-up — otherwise De Klerk and Kolbe could fill in as the pivot if required.
There are trickier selection conundrums in the pack for the Ireland showdown. Nienaber is likely to go for his strongest possible team, but what would that mean at No 8?
Duane Vermeulen is the established warhorse, but he was making his way back from a knee operation during the Rugby Championship, which saw Jasper Wiese build real momentum as a regular starter.
Vermeulen, though, has had some valuable game-time for Ulster in the URC, playing an hour against the Ospreys and then the full 80 minutes against the Lions at Ellis Park.
He missed out last week as Ulster’s clash against the Sharks was postponed due to illness in the Belfast side’s camp, but should be back on the park in Friday night’s massive showdown against Munster in Limerick.
So, should Nienaber opt for the 36-year-old Vermeulen or the 27-year-old Wiese — who has continued his excellent form for Leicester over the last few weeks — at the Aviva Stadium?
Stormers youngster Evan Roos trained with the Boks on Wednesday morning in Stellenbosch — after Elrigh Louw was ruled out of the tour with an ankle injury — while franchise teammates Manie Libbok and Sacha Mngomezulu were released back to the Cape side, so Roos may be part of the 34-man group, but will probably have to wait for the Italy Test to get some game-time.
Blindside flank is not clear-cut either, with Pieter-Steph du Toit battling to find his top form this season following a serious shoulder injury, and Franco Mostert producing a couple of busy displays in the Rugby Championship at No 7.
Ireland have a number of superb loose forwards, such as Peter O’Mahony, Tadhg Beirne, Gavin Coombes and Caelan Doris leading the way, so the Boks need to get their loose-trio mix just right.
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