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Time to say goodbye to this Springboks team
Like a great siege engine capable of flattening a fortress, Rassie Erasmus has built a destructive rugby machine. For the series decider against Ireland in Durban, South Africa’s coach has selected the most experienced team in Springboks history with the aim of hammering Andy Farrell’s charges into oblivion.
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There are a total of 990 Test caps across the match-day 23. The starting pack has an average of 71 matches under their belt. Had Damian Willemse been fit, and therefore taken the place of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as the versatile playmaker off the bench, South Africa’s total number of Test caps would have passed beyond 1,000.
The message is clear. All that matters is the here and now. The centre pair of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel – both maligned figures early in their careers but now overwhelmingly viewed in a favourable light – will break the South African record for most matches together in midfield with 30. Across the group, from the half-back combination of Faf de Klerk and Handre Pollard – who started both triumphant World Cup finals in 2019 and 2023 – as well as the back three, the back row, the second row and the front row, there are players who are likely more familiar with the feel of their teammates’ shoulders than they are the embrace of their wife and children.
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Since 2018 Erasmus has sacrificed short-term wins for success at the World Cup. Beyond recognising that the Webb Ellis Cup is rugby’s greatest prize, he has understood the significance of that golden trophy for the South African public. Winning it has not only been a matter of pride but great cultural importance. What’s a defeat to Australia in Sydney, or a first-ever loss to Wales at home, when compared to a ticker-tape parade through the streets of Cape Town and Soweto?
But this is different. Noise emanating from Ireland, circulating online and percolating from pundits and former players set up this two-match series as a battle for supremacy. Ignoring the two unions’ mismatched trophy cabinets, this was billed as a means to answer a nagging question: which nation can claim to be the sport’s true masters? Erasmus, his players and their supporters have been desperate to provide a definitive retort.
Which is why Erasmus, the great tinkerer who once half-joked, half-bragged, that his team is difficult to analyse given how often it chopped and changed, has named an unchanged side from the one that beat Ireland by seven points last week. He’s clearly seen something he likes.
More importantly, though, this might be the last time we see this team, in this current guise, take the field together. Of the starting 15, 11 were on the pitch for the opening whistle against England in Yokohama in 2019. Of the eight replacements for the upcoming game against Ireland, three were present off the bench five years ago. The average age of the starting 15 is 31 years old. The average age of the starting 15s of Ireland, New Zealand, England, Australia and Wales this weekend are all 28 or younger.
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Perhaps Erasmus is also eyeing a Rugby Championship win and could yet keep this group together a little longer. After all, the Springboks have not won the southern hemisphere title outside of a World Cup year since 2009. Given the state of flux at the All Blacks, and the diminished quality within the Wallabies and Pumas camps, this is a golden opportunity to add some silverware for the Boks.
Even so, Erasmus would be remiss not to at least experiment with some changes. Would there be any harm in giving Ethan Hooker an extended run in midfield, or Evan Roos a genuine shot at cementing his position at the base of the Springboks pack? Gerhard Steenkamp has already earned his call-up but what about Ntuthuko Mchunu or Neethling Fouche? Might they get an opportunity in the front row?
There is no shortage of depth and Erasmus would be wise to ensure every position is stacked with young, hungry talent that has enough miles in the legs to step up when required. Form and fitness are two variables that no coach can bank on. What he can control is making sure that enough deputies have experience against high-quality opposition. Even with a Rugby Championship on the line, or the chance of a clean sweep against the Home Nations later this year, South Africa’s match-day 23 must have more than a smattering of players who were spectators throughout this golden era.
And what of those already in the mix? Willie le Roux is – for my money – South Africa’s best full-back of the professional era, eclipsing the great game manager Percy Montgomery, and even the so-called Rolls Royce that is André Joubert. We’ll miss him when he’s gone, and even though he is still contributing at first receiver and dictating play, his final days in green are upon us.
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Others should also make way for younger upstarts. Handre Pollard is the only fly-half to win two men’s Rugby World Cups and if there was ever a player to kick a clutch goal to save your life, it’s the 30-year-old with shark eyes and a permanently furrowed brow. But is he the fly-half that the Springboks need right now? With a new attack coach in the mix, and the promise to dazzle out wide and discombobulate with intricate strike-plays, South Africa should put their faith in a more enterprising conductor at the heart of their offence.
Manie Libbok, who was rightly hooked during the first half of South Africa’s struggle against England in last year’s semi-final, has to return. It makes sense that Feinberg-Mngomezulu was given the nod on the bench for Ireland, given his ability to cover multiple positions. But if the Springboks are genuine in their intention to expand their game then Libbok has to be given the keys to this machine.
Evolution is paramount in sport and Erasmus has shown time and again that he is willing to adapt as needed. This series against Ireland was not the time for change. That will, and must, come later.
For now, let us enjoy this group while we have them. They are not only the most experienced team ever assembled in South Africa’s history, but arguably its greatest. This Saturday may be the last we see them all together.
Too many over 30’s in that squad. Still living off penalties and brutal TMO interventions to even hang-on in games. U20’s seem to be going backwards at a rate of knots too. Choked in a couple of home URC finals too. It’s only steady decline for them now.
For all of their power game and bomb squad, they have electric wingers who rarely touch the ball. They have an 80% kicker who can’t even preform basic tackles and offers less than the team physio in attack. Such a conflicted squad. Growth and development or slug it out for another RWC. 10 man rugby. Puke.
Rassie is both the best and worst thing to have happened to them.
This team was outplayed today. It is all well and good to use the backs to strike out wide like they did in the first test Vs Ireland but to take our focus off our forward domination will end in disaster. Today the forwards were outclassed/outmuscled by the the Irish forwards. The Boks cannot change from laying a solid foundation by the forwards before attempting anything else. They will do so at their own peril.
Because of age changes will have to be made: Hanekom, Roos, Van den Bergh, etc.
I don't agree with everything you say, but you have to remember that new tactics takes a few games to take effect. It won't happen overnight and the Irish isn't a team that you really can try and do new tactics at first go, which the Boks did. Big risk as shown.
The forward domination play is part and culture of the Boks and won't change. I completely agree with your assessment on younger players being included and blooded as well as with the players you mentioned. A back three consisting of Elrigh Louw, Evan Roos and Cameron Hanekom is just mouth watering to think of. I'd love to see PSDT (who originally was a lock) partner with Etzebeth, and Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw the front row. They would destroy everyone in front of them come scrum time, including rucks and mauls.
Good post. True on all counts.
The boks really missed Willie LeRoux today I think
That they did. Willie makes a massive difference although Sacha had a hell of a game. Those line breaks was stunning. He is the future, but Willie was surely missed. With him there, it would have been a different game altogether
There will be a gradual transition. Lots of up-and-coming players will be introduced. So you may be right that this line-up will not be fielded again, but the changes will be incremental match by match, and many of the existing players will be gradually replaced by nextgen individuals.
“Handre Pollard is the only fly-half to win two men’s Rugby World Cups”……I think you may have forgotten that the record points scorer in test rugby also won 2 world cups playing flyhalf/first five.
To me, there is 2 Flyhalfs with 2 WC medals , Pollard and Carter. Carter played in that WC, just not knockout so fully deserving of that medal.
carter is only considered to have won 1 cup..
Carter didn’t play in the playoffs in 2011. Stephen Donald’s famous kick to win the final ringing any bells?
Rassie will give some players opportunities in the RC. I expect Roos to feature then as well as Manie, grobbelaar, mgomezulu and a few others. I don't expect wholesale changes. He will try to win the RC and for that he will need his core team. I think the Springboks will experiment more on the year end tour. They will experiment against Scotland and Wales with their squad depth and go all out against England. The Springboks play 45 to 50 games in the cycle before the world cup. If rassie can put 40 caps into the most promising players like Roos etc and put at least 20 into a host of youngsters while keeping an experienced core and a couple of old timers I reckon it will be a good mix
This is NOT the last we’ll see of this team. Anything but.
We will see this team compete for the RC in 2024.
Rassie would be TOTALLY AMISS if he traded this team in for some experimental team and combinations and not make the strongest possible campaign for the RC in 2024 with this WC winning team.
He can experiment against Portugal and in the autumn series. But to suggest he should Make wholesale changes to build for 2027 now is stupid.
Who would he drop anyway? Everyone’s performing?
Faf, for example.
Don't forget Elrigh Louw, Cameron Hanekom(who is better than Roos) or Wilco Louw. However, Rassie knows what he is doing and even though I don't agree with all of his choices, I trust his vision. No one knows what he has in mind, and I just know he has his team's already set out with who plays when and against whomever. Everyone he deems worthy will get chances. He has earned our faith and besides, this team may be getting on in years, but they are still playing better than most younger players. I can name at least 3 squads that would be competitive world wide, just a shame we can't have 3 teams competing for honours. The depth is insane and most deserve that chance, but there is only so much available space.
it’s fair - I think career mgmt is important for great / older players like PSTD, Eben, Siya, Polly. If the target is the 2027 RWC, realistic we need a core group of 30 to draw 23 from and not miss a beat. I would take a few losses in the coming years to create the depth
Prefer wins, but yes absolutely agree. A few losses for the greater good is always a possibility. The Boks won't win every game in the next cycle up to the world cup anyway. No team will. The competition nowadays are much tighter. It's going to be a great 3 years until the next WC. Getting a 3 peat would be great,but it won't be easy. It's going to take some hard work getting there. Great planning. Rassie will have have at least 50 to 60 players ready by the next WC