1 week Ago By Craig Ray
It’s almost as if Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is intentionally toying with England through the British press before this weekend’s clash at Twickenham. In the build-up to Saturday’s Test, sections of the British media have been in a froth about the 7/1 bomb squad deployed during the 32-15 win over Scotland last week, labelling it “dangerous”. Inevitably, but certainly not as a reaction to the column inches, Erasmus has chosen a team with a traditional 5/3 split between forwards and backs on the bench.
Erasmus loves to keep everyone, outside of the inner circle, guessing. Players and coaches knew the team to face England weeks ago. It was chosen (injuries aside) before the team that played Scotland last week, and not the other way around.
The Boks always have a clear plan. Read more: Outgoing World Rugby chair Bill Beaumont is unhappy with Bok ‘bomb squad’ Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has given us some idea of what the Springbok “A” team looks like with his latest picks for the clash against England. (Photo: Stu Forster / Getty Images) And part of that plan, to further confuse England, is opting for Manie Libbok at flyhalf and Grant Williams at scrumhalf among the 12 changes from last week.
If you scratch a bit deeper though, this weekend’s run-on team shows only three changes to the starting unit that laid the platform for a 48-7 win over Argentina in Nelspruit. That victory clinched the Rugby Championship title. And the bench that did duty that day at the Mbombela Stadium is precisely the same as the one Erasmus picked for this week.
We now have a clear picture of what the Boks’ “A” team looks like, with 20 of the 23 players from the Pumas clash set to meet England. Tighthead Wilco Louw and lock RG Snyman come in for the injured France Malherbe and Ruan Nortj é respectively – otherwise it might have been 22 of the 23 – from the Argentina encounter. Scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse is rotated out in favour of Williams in the only other change to the Mbombela mauling.
Erasmus is also consciously driving the point home that despite criticism about Libbok’s flaky goal-kicking, he is a valued member of the squad. Hendrikse was on goal-kicking against Argentina, but with Williams starting it appears Libbok will be the designated marksman. Or, could Rassie go for another surprise and ask wing Cheslin Kolbe to kick? The coaches have not been shy to make in-game changes early on if things aren’t going well, but they are underlining that it doesn’t mean that a player’s career is finished if they do.
Libbok was unceremoniously hooked before halftime during last year’s Rugby World Cup semifinal at the Stade de France after enduring a poor 30 minutes. The Boks went on to win 16-15 with Handré Pollard landing crucial late kicks. Erasmus clearly does not hold that against the mercurial playmaker though.
Just as he showed faith in Libbok earlier this year after he missed a match-winning penalty against Argentina in Buenos Aires, by selecting him to start the following week for the return clash in Nelspruit, Erasmus continues to show how much he values Libbok’s gifts. Pollard is on the bench this week as insurance, but the team has been selected to give Libbok a platform from which to conduct efforts. Williams will start behind a behemoth pack that includes tighthead Wilco Louw, making his first start since 2021, and lock RG Snyman for only his third start in his last 20 Test appearances.
If there is dominance up front, the table will be set for Williams and Libbok to bring tempo and dazzle. Grant Williams at scrumhalf is one of 12 changes to the Springbok team to meet England this weekend. (Photo: David Rogers / Getty Images) Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel return at centre, Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse on the wings and Aphelele Fassi at fullback.
Everything about the backline screams “attack”, while the pack offers power, mobility and experience. With Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Jasper Wiese, Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Eben Etzebeth completing the unit, there are all sorts of wonderful skills to tap into. Scrumhalf Cobus Reinach is also recalled in partnership with Pollard and Lukhanyo Am as backline cover.
Forward regulars Malcolm Marx (hooker), props Gerhard Steenekamp and Vincent Koch, while Elrigh Louw and Kwagga Smith will provide an impact as the replacement loose forwards. “England poses a completely different challenge to Scotland, and we selected our squad based on what we would like to do in the match and also what we think will be best to counter the challenge England poses,” Erasmus said. “Fortunately, we have quite a few players who can switch positions if necessary, so we feel we have adequate depth throughout the team, which allowed us to select this group of replacements.
“England come off two narrow defeats, but the quality of their performances was good in both matches, so we are aware of the size of the challenge. “We lost narrowly to Ireland and France in back-to-back matches in 2022 and a year later were world champions, so we know we shouldn’t read anything into the last two results.” Only Etzebeth, Nché (prop) and Mbonambi retain their starting jerseys from Sunday’s Test in a 23 which includes eight personnel changes in total as Erasmus took steps to negotiate a six-day preparation week.
“The turnaround between the Scotland and England Tests is short, so we had to be smart in our selection to enable us to field a fresh squad with only six days between two tough Test matches,” Erasmus said. “It obviously has a knock-on in effect in the sense that we’ve made 12 changes to the starting lineup, but we have been rotating our squad all season. “Over and above that, most of these players know each other really well having played together for the last few seasons, as well as in the Rugby World Cup, the Incoming Series (against Ireland), and the Rugby Championship, so we are pleased with the quality of the team we’ve been able to name.
” In the last six meetings between the teams, each has recorded three wins, so Erasmus said he anticipated another arm wrestle. “England beat us three times out of four recently and we’ve only won three of the last six matches against them, so we have great respect for them, and we’ll certainly not underestimate them,” Erasmus said. “As I said on Sunday, we will be facing a desperate England team that will give everything on Saturday, so the consistency in our player combinations will be vital for us to deliver the quality of the performance we would like to.
“It’s going to be important for the players to gel quickly so hopefully we can start off strongly because we are expecting a full-out 80-minute battle. “They are playing at home in front of a passionate home crowd, and we know they will give everything to turn their Series around, so we believe it’s going to be a hard match until the final whistle,” he added. DM 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 RG Snyman 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nché.
Reserves: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Elrigh Louw, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Lukhanyo Am. Kick-off: 7.40pm.
