Lucky Maree
The days of experimenting are over. From now on, it’s the hard yards as every match from now until 24 September counts.
One can imagine that in his heart of hearts, Jacques Nienaber expected the first three matches to be a walk in the park where he would tweak the team this way and that way as they swept the Welsh off the pitch.
Well, those pesky men in red from Cardiff, Swansea and Llanelli didn’t play along, did they?
In a roundabout way, the first test would have given the Boks confidence. They were surprised on the night by a fierce Welsh attack but they still managed to pull it through and, what the hell, a win is a win.
In the second half of the second match, Wales really put the hammer down and that one point margin that gave the Welsh a well-deserved win, does not really show how well the men in red played.
“A proud record in tatters,” commented a sad Springbok supporter.
Nienaber has clearly gone to the traditional strength of South African rugby. The forwards, including the bench, can probably take on any pack in the world. The term, “bomb squad” seems to refer to the entire forward pack these days and it’s a title to be proud of.
But with six forwards and only two backs on the bench, the coach has to go for versatility in the backline. Given Handré Pollard’s lukewarm performance at flyhalf, he may even serve the team better at centre. The pressure on Pollard and Willie le Roux when he comes on will be immense, and if ever a man needed to step up it is Damian Willemse.
Dan Biggar, a very clever rugby player, will target Willemse with the high ball and Welsh wings Louis Rees-Zammit, Alex Cuthbert and Josh Adams will be relishing the chance of taking him down.
Faf de Klerk, free from the shackles of playing with Elton Jantjies, could be in for a good game provided he doesn’t try to win the game by himself when he comes on.
And by the way, just to stir the pot a little further, while both the All Blacks and the Springboks are facing tough opposition this weekend, they face each other in a crunch match only a fortnight later.
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Trevor Nyakane.
Subs: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Elrigh Louw, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Willie le Roux.
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Alex Cuthbert, 10 Dan Biggar (c), 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Subs: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 Josh Navidi, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Josh Adams.
