The decision to drop insurance policy player Willie le Roux for two seniors with a combined 40 minutes of Test rugby this year could bite the Springboks as they look for a historic win in Adelaide, writes DYLAN JACK.
The Springboks go into Saturday’s Test at the Adelaide Oval on the back of a disappointing home loss to New Zealand and looking for a first win in Australia since 2013.
Much has been made of the fact that the Boks have a dire record there. Out of the 41 Tests between the two teams in Australia since 1937, South Africa has won just 12.
That begs the question as to why Nienaber would drop his most impactful backline player in Le Roux, who is also one of four (the others being Duane Vermeulen, Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi) who were part of the squad that won in Brisbane nine years ago.
Le Roux had an inspired performance in that game, ironically on the right wing, where the Bok coaches refuse to place him despite the ongoing injury crisis in the position.
The now 33-year-old has saved the Boks’ bacon on more than one occasion this year, providing telling impacts off the bench in the home series against Wales, while he was part of the best attacking performance of the year in the loss to the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
Le Roux, Damian Willemse and Handre Pollard were starting to gel as a serious attacking threat in the second half of that Test in Johannesburg, but that unit won’t play in Adelaide.
Instead, the Springboks have left Le Roux out entirely and reverted to a five-three split on the bench, bringing back two game-shy veterans in Elton Jantjies and Frans Steyn.
In the team announcement conference, Nienaber defended the decision to bring Steyn back by pointing to his role in the Boks’ win over the All Blacks in Gold Coast last year.
However, that very much ignores context. When Steyn was selected on the bench for the 2 October Test, he had already made two starts that season – against Georgia in Pretoria and Argentina in Port Elizabeth – while he had also played off the bench against New Zealand the previous week. Steyn would go on to not only help beat the All Blacks, but also be one of the best players of the November tour.
This year, Steyn has been good for the Cheetahs in a devalued Currie Cup, but hasn’t played since suffering a hamstring injury on 28 May against Griquas.
Then there’s Jantjies. The 31-year-old was awful in his 40 minutes in the Test series opener against Wales in Pretoria. Misplaced kicks, out of hand and at goal, and poor decision-making had him hooked for Le Roux after only 40 minutes.
Beyond concerns with game time and form, it’s the balance of the backs that makes little sense and points to mistakes being repeated.
Should either Warrick Gelant or Makazole Mapimpi go off injured, Frans Steyn would come on and that would prompt the exact same backline shuffle that backfired defensively at Ellis Park.
As always, the overall explanation for including Steyn and Jantjies was “building squad depth” and “building for the World Cup”. Granted, if these two players are in the plans for 2023, then they are going to have to pick up minutes somewhere.
Why, then, was Jantjies not utilised at all in the four Tests that followed his Loftus Versfeld horror show? Why, in the immediate aftermath of that game, did Nienaber promise that Jantjies will “be better next week” and then proceed to not play him in the remainder of the Wales series?
The Springboks are going into a Test against the Wallabies in Australia where – given their record in the country as well as how poor they have been in first halves under Nienaber – they will be starting anywhere between 10 and 15 points down, without their ultimate insurance player in Le Roux.
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