By Lucky Vince Pienaar
Seven players in the Springbok team to face Portugal in Bloemfontein on Saturday will wear the green and gold jersey for the first time, and many seasoned players have a point to prove.
Portugal will be out to play the kind of courageous and imaginative rugby that earned them this match in the first place. The invitation came after their performance in the World Cup last year, and they will be ready to hit the park running.
While there is not much at stake from an international test rugby point of view, some players have been given a chance to show that they belong in the Springbok team.
Manie Libbok is back at flyhalf, which means that, sadly, Siya Masuka must now accept that he is out in the wilderness. Manie will have Cobus Reinach at scrumhalf, and there can hardly be a better number 9 for any flyhalf.
Libbok is also right on the edge of being forgotten, and he will have to be at his very best – including his kicking.
The man snapping at his heels is Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who is on the bench. Sacha showed enormous potential against Ireland with some brilliant stepping and inventive play, but he did not deliver a perfect performance. He needs to bring his very best game this weekend.
At last, Phepsi Buthelezi gets his jersey! There is no doubt that he is a good player, but we will have to see whether he can make the step up to the top level. If he does, he may become one of the great loose forwards in local rugby.
Morne van den Berg and Quan Horn will get their chance off the bench. Exciting players in any company will undoubtedly bring energy to the match, making it thrilling to watch.
It’s good to see Lukhanyo Am, Trevor Nyakane, and Thomas du Toit back on the field. All three, and Am in particular, have to prove that they are ready for the big matches in the upcoming series against New Zealand and Australia.
Run-on side (players marked with an asterisk are first-time Springboks): 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi*, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar*, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels*
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter*, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Ruan Venter*, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Morne van den Berg*, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Quan Horn*
Pictured above: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has shown enormous potential.
Source: Springboks/X
