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Schalk Brits has named the player he thinks should replace Snyman in the Springboks squad

(Photo by Juan Jose Gasparini/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Schalk Brits has backed Lions lock Marvin Orie to fill the void in the Springboks ranks created by the serious knee injury that will rule RG Snyman out of the sport for at least six months, removing one of the key elements from the World Cup-winning ‘bomb squad’.

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Snyman suffered an ACL tear seven minutes into his Munster debut last month and with the Springboks possibly becoming the eighth team to compete in a one-off November tournament in Europe, finding another second row option will be crucial. 

The second row giant was a member of the so-called Springbok ‘bomb squad’, the eight replacements who played such a key role in helping to defeat England in the 2019 World Cup final in Yokohama.

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RugbyPass brings you Bringing Home Gold, a look back on the South African 2019 World Cup win in the company of Schalk Brits

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RugbyPass brings you Bringing Home Gold, a look back on the South African 2019 World Cup win in the company of Schalk Brits

Brits – a member of that cup-winning squad – believes the player to replace Snyman is Orie, the 27-year-old lock from the Lions who has won three caps and recently spent a period on loan at the Ospreys. 

Moving Pieter-Step du Toit, the World Rugby player of the year for 2019, from flanker to lock is also an option for the Springboks, who are now coached by Jacques Nienaber after Rassie Erasmus moved into the role of SA Rugby’s director of rugby.

Brits isn’t convinced du Toit wants to move into the second row and become an option alongside the World Cup trio of Lood de Jager (Sale), Eben Etzebeth (Toulon) and Franco Mostert (Honda Heat). He told RugbyPass: “Marvin was involved when we were preparing for the World Cup and as there hasn’t been a lot of training, it is a natural decision to bring him into the squad. I don’t know if Pieter-Steph wants to play lock anymore but he is so versatile he can play any role.

“There are other locks who will be looking to impress and JD Schickerling (Stormers) went on the end of year tour a couple of years ago. My own view is that they will pull in Marvin and then it would be quite a surprise if they didn’t use Pieter-Steph as an extra combination. 

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“My prediction is they will have the same Springbok squad as at the World Cup. There is talk about trying to have a tournament with Australia and New Zealand but how do you practically do that at the moment? 

“There is also talk of South Africa being part of the eight-team tournament in Europe in November but some of the players are in Japan having to quarantine and then they would have to quarantine again if they leave. Domestically, they are hoping to start up in a couple of weeks here but it’s still up in the air.”

Brits is currently preparing for the greatest challenge of his sporting life, joining fellow Springbok hookers Hanyani Shimange and 2007 World Cup-winning captain John Smit in helping to raise £4.4million for the families of medical staff killed fighting Covid-19 in South Africa.

Brits, Shimange and Smit will this weekend pull a cart loaded with provisions 200kms across the unforgiving dry salt pans of the Verneukpan in the Northern Cape which were used in 1929 by Malcolm Campbell in his unsuccessful attempt to break the land speed record in his Napier-Campbell Blue Bird.

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Brits and his fellow hookers will not be trying to break any speed records. They are just looking to emerge victorious against teams from soccer, running and cricket in one of the biggest fundraising initiatives in South African history. 

The initial aim was to raise 100m Rand (£4.4m) to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers but it has been decided the money will also go to support the families of those who have died while tackling the pandemic.

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Taking time away from his preparations to avoid the scorpions and puff adders that are prevalent in the Verneukpan, the former Saracens hooker said: “The three of us are walking 200kms and this is right at the top of my sporting challenges. 

“I’m more scared about the natural elements out there. It’s no fun with blisters, rashes and pulling the cart a long way. Originally it was planned to be in a game reserve in Botswana and then because of Covid-19, they moved it locally to the middle of nowhere. 

“The plan was to help with PPE but in South Africa, we have had a lot of deaths in the medical fraternity and we are trying to raise as much money as possible for families who have lost loved ones who are the real heroes. 

“They went to work knowing they could lose their life and that is the biggest reason for doing this. Butch James is captain of the team and my biggest worry is the guys are going to eat the food we are carrying before we get to the finish line.

“They are big human beings with big appetites. We’re sleeping out and the cart weighs 200kgs. My plan is to sit on the cart and ensure that John and Hanyani are at the right 45 degree angle to pull us forward.”

BATTLE OF THE SPORTS TEAMS

Cricket: Lance Klusener, Makhaya Ntini, Monde Zondeki – managed by Jonty Rhodes

Rugby: Hanyani Shimange, John Smit, Schalk Brits – managed by Butch James

Running: Bongmusa Mthembu, David Gatebe, Nick Bester – managed by Bruce Fordyce

Soccer: Matthew Booth, Siyabonga Nomvethe, Teko Modise – managed by Neil Tovey

 

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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