The tournament ending injury to Malcolm Marx has thrown the cat amongst the pigeons for Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber meticulous RWC plans. Malcolm is a vital cog in the Springbok squad as a starter to set the tone with his physical presence at the gainline and over ball. He is also a nightmare to handle as part of the bomb squad as a jackler against tiring legs as well as being incredibly mobile for a big man. We cannot underestimate the scale of this loss, it is massive. The Springbok management has impressed with how detailed their planning is so I can’t imagine they have not foreseen every eventuality including this loss. It looks as though they are happy with the hooker options in the squad i.e Bongi Mbonambi, Deon Fourie and Marco van Staden (Yes that is not a misprint, Eskom himself is the back up to the back up to the back up). Please give poor Joseph Dweba a moment as this would have been his chance to join a RWC squad, a milestone for any international player. He has struggled with aspects of his game but he has had very little playing time outside of his appearances for the Springboks which is hardly the place to sharpen your skills under the microscope of a fanatical fan base. That leaves us with a few options: Hander Pollard, Lukhanyo Am and Lood de Jager. I will look in depth at each option to see who is needed the most and why.
Handre Pollard
This would be the obvious choice as Manie Libbok has blown hot and cold with the kicking tee which would be a concern for any RWC coach. Handre has come back from a calf injury that he struggled to shake which means that he is seriously short of game time and wouldn’t be allowed much contact to protect his injury. This would be the biggest worry for me with having Handre as the replacement for Marx as he would be using games to get his match fitness up because of his lengthy time off. If we look at flyhalf depth for the Boks – Damian Willemse is the main backup and he is oozing confidence at the moment. After that we have Willie le Roux, Faf de Klerk, Cheslin Kolbe or even Jaden Hendricke at a push. These are untested players in international rugby at flyhaf but they have plenty of experience playing international rugby and also under the Rassie/Jacques coaching umbrella. Looking at kicking backups to Manie should the wheels fall off, it is Faf de Klerk, Damian Willemse, Wille le Roux and even Cheslin Kolbe. Not great options but Faf is a gamer and has proven that he can handle the big stage. My feeling is that the risk of an undercooked Handre coupled with sufficient flyhalf back ups means that is not my first choice.
Lood de Jager
If we were having this discussion before the Springbok warm up games I wouldn’t have even started the discussion and picked Lood outright. The issue is now that Jean Kleyn and RG Snyman have grabbed the opportunity with both enormous sized hands so firmly that it is hard to see them get ousted. Being an integral part of the Springbok tight five is no easy feat but both players have been welcomed in with open arms for different reasons. Jean Kleyn is a no nonsense hard nosed grinder who doesn’t expect any of the praise for his hard graft. He is the perfect foil for what is required from the Bok locks as he is so willing to put his head into the dark places where only pain exists which opens up space for a more mobile number 5. RG Snyman is a physical freak but what makes his talent so unique is that he has the skills of an all-court basketball player. It is remarkable the things he can do on the field and his X factor is invaluable in a RWC that could be very tight in the knockout stages. This is more about how good the replacements have been rather than Lood de Jager being bad as he is a known commodity and a RWC winner. It is for these reasons Lood is a non starter for me.
Lukhanyo Am
The midfield maestro is a genius on marshalling the outside in defensive shape of the Springboks and although he has been struggling for form the whole season he is still amongst the best in the business. Currently Jesse Kriel is doing a great job of commanding the backline which is most pleasing as he had seemed to hit his ceiling previously to always be the backup player. His role is a vital one as he leads the charge for the rush defense so if he gets it wrong they risk being cut to smithereens. The backup options currently in the squad are Canan Moodie and Damian Willemse which might sound great on paper more for the attacking prowess of the pair but their lack of exposure as the defensive general is worrying. Canan Moodie could well develop in the next Lukhanyo Am but he needs to learn how to marshall a defense for multiple seasons before he can go against the best in the world. Damian de Allende and Andre Esterhuizen are specialist number 12’s and wouldn’t be able to handle the speed needed to be a Springbok rush defense leader. For me this is the biggest area of need for the Springboks as this specialist position which is relatively unique to the Springboks and little to no realistic backups for Jesse Kriel.
Let’s see if Rassie/Jacques listen to me in the next few days…
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