Quintin van Jaarsveld identifies five Springbok players who’ll be in the spotlight in Friday’s Nations Championship blockbuster against France in Paris.
Wilco Louw
Rassie Erasmus has made only one change to the starting XV, but it’s a colossal one: Louw replaces Thomas du Toit at tighthead.
The Boks boast the most destructive scrum in world rugby. As such, it was a shock to see how well Italy stood up to South Africa’s feared weapon last weekend. That is until Louw and his fellow replacement front-rowers came on and dominated in the second half.
In Louw, Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche, Erasmus is set to unleash the strongest front row combination in the game on Les Bleus. Louw’s return to the run-on side is a signal of intent from Erasmus – that he plans on decimating the French upfront.
Good luck trying to stop them.
ALSO READ: Boks Change Two For Les Bleus Battle
Lood de Jager
De Jager was drafted into the starting line-up at the 11th hour last weekend after Salmaan Moerat was forced to withdraw due to back spasms, and made the most of the opportunity.
It was just his second start of the season, having last donned the No. 4 jersey in the 17-10 win over the Pumas in August, and he slotted in seamlessly.
His experience really showed, as did his hunger as his hard work extended to charging down a kick, which led to Damian Willemse’s try.
With Eben Etzebeth having joined the squad after Yaqeen Ahmed returned to South Africa with an injury, and with Moerat expected to also be in contention for next weekend’s clash against Ireland, De Jager will likely miss out.
Thus, he’ll be looking to put in a big shift in what will be his 80th Test on Friday.
Morne van den Berg
The year of “Krappie” continued in Turin last weekend as he scored his eighth try in just his 12th Test and came away with the Man of the Match award.
On Friday, he could come up against who many believe is the best No. 9 in the business in Antoine Dupont, if the French captain isn’t asked to fill in at flyhalf.
The next nine in line, Maxime Lucu, is elite as well, so either way, it will be a chance for Van den Berg – who has now overtaken Cobus Reinach as the Boks’ first-choice scrumhalf – to show he’s one of the very best.
Erasmus on Monday spoke about why the 29-year-old fits into the Boks’ plan so well, saying, “It’s sometimes tough to convince people that there’s something in a player that we see.
“Not that other players are not good. Some of the best players in South Africa will probably, in our era, not play for the Springboks because of what we need in a certain team.
“If you’ve got Siya [Kolisi] and Pieter-Steph [du Toit] and Jasper [Wiese], the next player you want in there [loose trio] is probably a Cameron Hanekom, who can cover seven and eight. Elrigh [Louw] is good, Evan [Roos] is good, but maybe they don’t complement what we need in this specific team.
“There are good scrumhalves in South Africa – Faf [de Klerk], Jaden [Hendrikse], Embrose [Papier] – and they’ve got wonderful skills.
“But what Sacha brings and Manie [Libbok] brings and Handré [Pollard] brings and Damian [de Allende] brings and Gaza [Damian Willemse] brings and Andre Esterhuizen brings, we maybe need a nine just to be really fast off the base and get the balls into those guys’ hands.
“We don’t need this guy who’s sniping all over the field. I think the big thing about Krappie, which we enjoy, is he makes everything a contest. The tackle, tackle fight, a pass, getting to the ruck quick enough.
“I’m not blowing his horn and saying he’s one of the best players in the world, but hell, he grafts and he gives his best.”
ALSO READ: Best Boks vs Italy: Hooker, Halfbacks Shine
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
After indifferent form for club and country, Feinberg-Mngomezulu was back to doing SFM things last weekend, sprinkling stardust across the pitch and scoring 26 of the Boks’ 66 points.
He’ll have a lot less time and space on the ball come Friday night, which in theory means fewer opportunities to do the sublime. Instead, his main job will be to do the fundamentals well.
France, more so than most international teams, put a premium on percentage rugby, i.e. playing in the right areas of the field. Mngomezulu, not just Van den Berg, will have to counteract that with a smart and accurate kicking game of his own.
Damian Willemse
Following up on Les Bleus’ tactical approach, while they’re accurate when kicking contestables from the base, they mainly kick long and deep. Thus, Willemse is in for a busy night.
The 28-year-old is having a stellar season and is one of the best in the world under the high ball. In this case, his decision-making will be even more important than his aerial ability.
He’s a natural attacker, but over the course of his Bok career, which started back in 2018, he’s evolved into a complete player. He’ll have to show that maturity at the Stade de France, where the French will try to hand him rope to hang himself with if he takes the bait and tries to run from deep.
When it comes to dealing with Les Bleus’ long game, patience will be key for the Bok fullback.
Quintin van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 20 years of experience.
