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The Springboks selection policy that helps cancel out effect of 'physical' games

19 Oct 2023

Duane Vermeulen of South Africa during the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between France and South Africa at the Stade de France in Paris, France. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber has downplayed the physical toll two huge games against Ireland and France had his Springboks side as they head into a Rugby World Cup semi-final against England.

Nienaber has named an unchanged side from the one that knocked hosts France out of the tournament last weekend in Paris and there has been talk that the Boks arduous route through the World Cup could see them lag against a fresher England side.

The Leinster-bound head coach says South Africa have a number of internal selection policies that help in culling players who aren’t fit enough for the weekend.

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“The World Cup is a long tournament, which is why we went with a policy of rotating. The majority of the group who played in the quarter-final also played against Ireland. If you talk about physicality, our players told us the Tonga game was one of the most physical they had played in. So the one group got nicely exposed to it against Ireland, and the others got exposed to it against Tonga.

“Physicality is like any conditioning component, you have to get used to it. From that point of view, it set us up nicely for the France game. Obviously the French game was physical but our policy is if you can’t train on Monday, you can’t play. But everyone was good and ready to train, so we got a nice stimulus from a physical point of view against France. We will need that going into England, because if you look at their performances, they are improving every game, they are getting better.

“Like the French, they have a unique kicking game, they are comfortable not playing with the ball. They like to strangle you, kick the ball in your half, apply the pressure and wait for you to make a mistake. From a tactical point of view, we know what’s coming and we just need to make sure we execute on the day.”

There are six players in this match-day team who have played in each of South Africa’s past two Rugby World Cup semi-finals, in 2015 and 2019: Willie Le Roux, Damian de Allende, Handre Pollard, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, and Duane Vermeulen.

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Comments

5 Comments

Manie 664 days ago

I hope this is the right call. I have no doubt the guys can pull through another weekend, but we have a massively talented squad,and some guys that need confidence ro win a WC knock-out.. and winning the RWC with a potential All Blacks clash in the final, would require focusing on 2 games in one. The ABs we beat before the WC is not the same animal it has since become. Got to be wary of that.

Bob Marler 664 days ago

Manie, do you have time to dissect this? Shouldn’t you be practicing your kicking? 😏

I was also surprised by this. We’ve become so accustomed to seeing a different team each week - we’ve forgotten that, generally speaking, the “strongest team” is played to build continuity.

But more, I think, this is the team Nienaber believes can beat the English. Happens to be the team that beat the French. If we make it to the final, is this the same team they believe can beat the All Blacks? Or do they have another configuration in mind?

Nienaber often uses that phrase “this is the team we believe is good enough to beat…”

Looked at the team that played the ABs at Twickenham and, apart from injuries (Marx, Mapimpi) the only significant difference to this team is in the centers. And of course that 7/1 party. But Willie was on the bench.

So it seems to me that this is the team to the final. Barring injuries or major form issues.

It’s very likely that they’ve been preparing for this run of games. The pools and QFs went pretty much as expected with us meeting France, England on the way to the final.

Fritz 664 days ago

Surely he will know, they are. playing the style the Boks played 3-4 years ago

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