Durban - While there has been no official confirmation yet, Cheslin Kolbe is almost certainly out of the Rugby Championship after suffering a serious jaw injury in the third Test against Wales at Cape Town Stadium last weekend.
So, the question now is: Who will replace him in the Springbok No 14 jersey for the first Test against the
All Blacks on August 6 at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit?
Well, coach Jacques Nienaber should have his answer after controversially giving his entire 42-man squad opportunities over the course of the series with Wales.
And one of the few players to really stick his hand up in the revamped side that lost 13-12 in Bloemfontein was Kurt-Lee Arendse.
Indeed, Nienaber said after the series that he had learned a great deal about his squad and that some players’ stock had risen, while that of others had suffered, and Arendse would certainly fall into the former category.
In that second Test against Wales at Free State Stadium, he had few attacking opportunities but looked threatening when he did get the ball, while on defence, he was tenacious and also safe under the high ball.
The Bulls star is a gutsy player and appears to be cut from the same cloth as Kolbe himself.
In fact, there is a YouTube video doing the rounds showing Arendse’s brilliant tries for the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship, and it is aptly titled ‘The new Cheslin Kolbe’.
Well, the 28-year-old Kolbe is going nowhere just yet, but it is encouraging for South African rugby fans to know there is a more than an able replacement literally waiting in the wings.
Incidentally, the pair are the exact same weight (75kg), while the 26-year-old Arendse is nine centimetres taller at 1.80m.
Aphelele Fassi was the other wing in the second Test and he has been in the Bok squad for considerably longer than Arendse, and this type of fact tends to hold a lot of water with Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus – they love to favour players who have been in their “system”.
But, in my opinion, Arendse has leapfrogged Fassi in the wing pecking order, with the latter having questions on his defence.
The fact that Fassi has been in the system since 2021, when he made his debut against Georgia, should not count against newcomer Arendse.
Perhaps ironically, the Bok coaching staff’s obsession with experience counted against Fassi last year when Kolbe was injured, and the fairly drastic step was taken of playing Jesse Kriel on the wing for the November internationals.
Many felt that tour was the correct forum to give Fassi more experience, but Nienaber went the conservative route with the experienced Kriel, even though he is a centre and not a wing.
If Nienaber resorts to Kriel once more for the All Black games, there will be an outcry.
It would be a backward step a year out from the World Cup, and now is the time for Arendse (and Fassi) to gain the experience they need at the highest level ahead of France 2023.
@MikeGreenaway67