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Play-off assured but Canada selection might require balancing act

rugby05 October 2019 07:14| © SuperSport
By:Gavin Rich
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Springboks © Getty Images

The Springboks achieved their mission of both building confidence and also securing a World Cup play-off place with their 49-3 win over Italy but as they headed towards Kobe on Saturday the focus shifted towards the one play-off game that remains.

The chances of the Boks not still being in the competition when the knock-outs start aren’t realistic - they have to lose to Canada and Italy have to beat New Zealand - so their date with destiny on Sunday, 20 October is pretty much assured. That though is a break of 16 days for players who played in Shizuoka and won’t face Canada in Kobe on Tuesday so there is a question to be asked - is that too long?

One of Rassie Erasmus’ predecessors as Bok coach thought it was in 2015. Heyneke Meyer took some flak when he played his full strength side against the USA at the London Stadium in the final Pool game of that World Cup. He argued that he needed the combinations to gel further before the games that really matter, and it was an argument that did not lack validity, particularly at that time when the Boks were still recovering their Mojo after the disastrous start against Japan.

But the counter-argument was strong too - if the fringe players don’t get to play in games against the likes of USA, how can they be expected to be sharp if called upon to fill in during the play-offs because of injury.

There’s an extra dimension built into the dilemma this time though - 16 days is a long time to wait between games and you want your players to be as sharp as possible for a sudden-death World Cup game.

ERASMUS MAY HAVE PLANNED WELL BUT WILL BE AWARE OF MOUNTING INJURIES

Knowing Erasmus he would have planned well ahead for the Canada game but there have been a few things that have happened recently that could impact on his thinking and his selection for this last Pool match. For a start, Jesse Kriel, who would have played No 13 in this game and against Namibia, has gone home injured.

That has meant that Lukhanyo Am has had to start three games in succession. Given that there is a short turn-around of just four days between Italy and Canada, pushing the Sharks player into a fourth consecutive start might be asking a bit much. He’s an important player, even more so now that Kriel is injured, and he shouldn’t be risked.

You might say the same for Damian de Allende, except that as he is now the back-up No 13 should Am get injured, Erasmus might consider it important that he gives the Stormers centre a run there. You can’t experiment in the play-offs, so if Erasmus is going to get a proper look at the potential of Frans Steyn and De Allende lining up as the 12/13 combination it has to be done now.

Another thing that has changed since the start of the World Cup is that Kriel’s injury has seen Damian Willemse join the squad. The 21-year-old is a precocious and special talent who shouldn’t lack match sharpness as apparently he has been playing well overseas after finishing off the season with Western Province in a Currie Cup he missed for most of the way because of injury.

It was interesting that Erasmus should call him into the squad when a centre was injured and it could have been an indicator of concern at the form shown by Elton Jantjies at flyhalf against Namibia. Jantjies is the second choice starting pivot at this World Cup - he would wear the No 10 if Handre Pollard was ruled out before a game - but started his stay in Japan with a slight hamstring injury that apparently limited his training time and he looked very rusty in his only start thus far.

Jantjies may have benefitted from getting a full 80 minutes against Namibia, and should be given a chance to start against Canada. But Willemse, who was part of the Bok captain’s practice at the Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa on the eve of the Italy match, does present an interesting alternative and should cover both flyhalf and fullback from the bench.

Willie le Roux’s form continues to be a concern at fullback and Willemse was the best local fullback during the recent Super Rugby season before he was injured. After limping off the field towards the end in Shizuoka, Cheslin Kolbe should surely be rested completely for this game. But that leaves just two wings, one of whom, Makazole Mapimpi, has played in all the games up to now.

LE ROUX COULD BE MADE TO PLAY ON THE WING

An option could be to play Le Roux on the wing, which was the position he switched to for a stage of the second half in Shizuoka when Mapimpi was off the field having a cut attended to. Frans Steyn went to fullback in the time that Mapimpi was off the field.

The make-up of the back three should be Erasmus’ only possible debating point when it comes to his first choice team after the rout of Italy. Skipper Siya Kolisi now looks properly up to speed with his match fitness - though it might not harm him to have another run in Kobe - and Lood de Jager confirmed himself as the right fit as Eben Etzebeth’s partner in the second row.

Faf de Klerk was much better against Italy than he was against the All Blacks, with more of his contestable kicks getting positive results in the early phases, while Pollard had a good allround game apart from perhaps an understandable tendency to be over-elaborate on attack later in the match.

Damian de Allende has had a good World Cup so far and outside of Kolbe has been the most consistent back, while Am has been excellent both defensively and with ball in hand in the past two matches.

Bongi Mbonambi was one of the picks of a formidable pack and Malcolm Marx also did well when he came on. It is hard though to take a line on the front-row performances as although Beast Mtawarira, Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe were squeezing their opponents in the early phases, the two Italian injuries that led to scrums being uncontested for the last hour of the game meant it wasn’t a proper overall test of their primary roles.

The team for the Canada match will be announced on Sunday and the short turn-around could make for an interesting few days and an even more interesting selection.

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