Why Smith is such a massive loss

Jake White reckons he is now fielding his 'B' team against the All Blacks, but one of the ironies of the injury that has forced Juan Smith out of the Loftus test is that it came on the same day that the Springbok team started to look like a full-strength combination again.

You do have to feel sorry for the Springbok coach, for it is not so much the number of first-choice players that have been ruled out this year that have caused problems, but the identity of those players. Once again, the Boks have been robbed not just of one player, but of a player of great influence.

And it came on the very day that an influential player was officially returned to the mix. The return of Jean de Villiers, which was the only initial change to the Bok team for this Vodacom Tri-Nations encounter, meant that the hosts, after a season where they seldom had their first-choice combinations together, were heading back to their top side again.

De Villiers, like his still indisposed Western Province teammate Schalk Burger, is one of those men who is worth a couple of players. The Bok coach’s decision to return him to his favourite position of inside centre was a wise one, for he could be the catalyst to unlocking the flair and greater inventiveness which the South African fans will be hoping for during the home leg.

More significantly, it meant that the Boks were back to the best midfield combination that they can put onto the field. De Villiers and Jaque Fourie have had a partnership that is now several tests and well over a year old, so there is no doubt it will bring some much needed stability to the Bok game.

The latest Bok selection, particularly in the light of the much changed All Black team for this match, and White’s contention that Smith’s injury means he has a 'B' team playing at Loftus, does call for some analysis of just how disrupted the Bok really are. It may be that the Boks are under-strength not because of the number of first-choice players missing, but because of the identity of those missing players.

While White is fond of throwing out names of “first-choice players” who are missing at the moment, the reality is that, in terms of names on paper, there are not really that many that are still out. At least they are not out because they are unavailable.

For instance, how long is White going to list Ashwin Willemse as a first choice? It is now a long time since the big Lions player has made an appearance for the Boks, and it is also a long time since he has even played rugby.

And Gurthro Steenkamp, the loosehead who was ruled out of rugby for the year, was only a first choice for the Boks in those matches where White looked to rotate Os du Randt. The 1995 World Cup veteran is undeniably still the Bok first choice in the No 1 jersey, so Steenkamp cannot be counted as a missing first-choice player.

Now that BJ Botha is fit again and has been included on the bench, the Boks have their top front-row playing. In fact, they have had it for several matches, ever since CJ van der Linde came back from injury.

Although many critics were amazed that White persisted with Eddie Andrews for so long at tighthead, it was White’s choice.

If it meant the Boks looked under-strength in the front row, it was because the selectors chose the team that way. There are many who would also say Cobus Visagie should be there, but when all is said and done, Loftus will see the Bok front-row rated by the selectors as the one that, were the World Cup played tomorrow and all the players were fit, would be in place.

The halfback combination, considering that André Pretorius is now also fit and can be considered for selection, is also the first-choice one. Having Butch James there seems a long way from White’s choices of last season, when he started with Jaco van der Westhuyzen, then moved to Pretorius before being forced by injury, to both Van der Westhuyzen and Pretorius, to select rookie Meyer Bosman.

Van der Westhuyzen and Bosman, like Pretorius, are now available, so the Boks do have their first choices at scrumhalf and flyhalf, as well as in the midfield.

Given the length of time Willemse has been out, and the doubts over when or even if he will play again at the same level as before his injury problems started, you would have to say that the back three are the first-choice combination here too.

Breyton Paulse is not playing but he is available. Percy Montgomery’s form was not great in Australia, but White continues to opt for his experience, and would also do so if the Boks were playing a World Cup final tomorrow.

So, with so many combinations now at full-strength, where is the massive disruption that is being used as an excuse for Bok failures? Ah, therein lies the rub…before Smith was ruled out, there were two players out who had a massive role in White’s previous Bok successes.

It is true that one man should not make a team, but losing three players of the calibre of Schalk Burger, Bakkies Botha and, until this week, De Villiers can have a hugely negative impact on a team’s performance.

White is right to point to the continued selection of Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter in the All Black 'B' team. Some players are just indispensable, and the three who were out during the overseas leg of the Tri-Nations were probably South Africa’s equivalent of McCaw and Carter (well, Matfield should be included there too).

And if there was an additional player who could be added to that, it would be Smith, who has now been sidelined. So, while White might be guilty of hyperbola when he says this Bok side is his 'B' team, his point is the right one. His team is missing three very important players.