Ken Borland

Jasper Wiese will now be the man the Springboks turn to to wear the No.8 jersey and try and make up for the much-mourned absence of Duane Vermeulen, while the much-criticised replacement of prop Ox Nche for the second half of the first Test against the British and Irish Lions has now officially been confirmed as being due to injury.

Nche, who held his own against highly-rated Lions tighthead Tadhg Furlong and was typically impactful in open play, will sadly miss the second Test on Saturday due to a neck injury he picked up towards the end of the first half. It has forced a rejigging of the Springboks’ front-row plans, with Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe now the starting props. Trevor Nyakane, who also did well last weekend, will now cover loosehead from the bench, with Vincent Koch brought in as the tighthead reserve.

But scrummaging was not the Springboks’ major issue in the first Test defeat. In the second half they were exposed in the aerial battle and there was little explosive gainline work either. Wiese, who has been a superb offensive ball-carrier for Leicester Tigers, will hopefully be able to bring some improvement in both problem areas.

“Jasper has been part of our plans and he could form a nice combination with Kwagga Smith coming off the bench too and able to play to his strengths. His main role will be the same as Kwagga’s last week – to get and stop momentum and he was Player 24 last weekend. He’ll have another week of preparation now to get used to how we do things.

“He did very well in the Premiership, his carries were so dominant. Tactically I was probably not sharp enough last weekend to protect Kwagga on the high balls, he was hung out to dry a bit. So we have changed things around there and we want to see from Jasper what got him into the squad. We just needed to improve on how we handled the contestable kicks in the second half,” Nienaber said at the team announcement on Monday.

Smith and Marco van Staden both coming off the bench are certainly two high-energy players and the Springboks have returned to the 6/2 split on the replacements bench they used so successfully in winning the World Cup. That makes Damian Willemse the key backline substitute, fulfilling the role of the veteran Francois Steyn in Japan in 2019.

“Damian has participated in all of the warm-up games and has had time at 12, 15 and 10, similar to what Frans Steyn gave us. He’s versatile and we’ve introduced him into the various roles. We’re comfortable that he can slot into all three of centre, fullback and flyhalf. We’re comfortable the backs can now all handle a full 80 minutes, after a couple of guys had been in isolation for 10 days before the first Test.

“We knew it was going to be tough last week, which is why we didn’t go for the 6/2 split, guys had just not been exposed enough to training, someone like Handre Pollard started cramping. Now they have all been exposed to high-intensity rugby, they are topped up and the muscle memory will still be there having dropped off after isolation,” Nienaber said.

Springbok team: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Handré Pollard (vice-captain), Faf de Klerk, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain), Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff. Bench – Malcolm Marx, Trevor Nyakane, Vincent Koch, Lood de Jager, Marco van Staden, Kwagga Smith, Herschel Jantjies, Damian Willemse.

On the night of the first Test against the British and Irish Lions, there was already an acknowledgement from the Springboks that the tourists’ brilliant kicking game had been the key factor in their 17-22 defeat, but on Monday the lack of dominance up front in the second half by the pack, which teed up the Lions kickers, was addressed by forwards coach Deon Davids.

“You’ve got to have a solid base in the lineouts and scrums, your forwards need to put you on the front foot, in order for you to play to your plan. If one thing goes wrong, that will influence the kick, it has a ripple effect. It’s so important that your set-pieces give you a solid base and the Lions were streetwise in what they did, we will have to handle that better.

“It’s one thing to win the ball in the lineout, but it’s also important to have quality possession and be able to set the platform to kick. Not all our roles were totally fulfilled and there was not always proper support after we had won the ball. We let ourselves down in the second half and some individual standards need to be raised, although everyone definitely tried very hard,” Davids said on Monday.

Apart from the obvious slackening off in intensity in the second half, which is partly a conditioning issue that might not be able to be fixed in one week, Davids acknowledged that the Lions had also played much smarter rugby than the Springboks. Not giving the home team many lineouts was one such clever strategy, which prevented the Boks from launching from their fearsome rolling maul.

“I’m not sure but only having four lineouts might be a world record for a Test match. The Lions were very smart and they did not give us lineouts, instead we were fielding high balls all the time and that put us under pressure. But we also have to ensure that our kicking game is exceptionally accurate to ensure you get the advantage of territory. We can be better in execution and be smarter.

“In terms of our exit plays, you also need to ensure a solid platform there so you get good delivery of the ball. That can also improve because we did not have a lot of attacking options. We want to play from set-pieces in the opposition half, but if you don’t get those opportunities then you are just left with unstructured attack off turnovers. We need to get into better places on the field,” Davids said.

The British and Irish Lions were successfully able to check the Springboks’ momentum in the second half as they turned a 3-12 halftime deficit into a 22-17 win in an enthralling first Test in Cape Town on Saturday.

A focused Springbok side had ticked all the boxes in the first half, putting in an impressively controlled performance considering how much talk there has been about them being underdone. In contrast, the Lions seemed to be the side who were over-excited by the magnitude of the occasion, conceding several penalties.

Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard gave a polished display and kicked all four of his shots at goal in the first half. South Africa dominated territory and held on to the ball with composure, building phases and pressure. Their defence was also typically effective and, having taken the 12-3 lead, they had to repel a concerted onslaught from the Lions. They did so, but the Lions also missed a couple of penalties and made other errors that prevented them from closing the gap.

The momentum carried into the second half, however, and the Lions were given a great attacking platform by two soft penalties – Kwagga Smith getting up with the ball after he had been tackled and then a high tackle by Eben Etzebeth, who had been the dominant force around the rucks.

Four minutes into the second half and the Lions had the first try, hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie going over from the lineout drive.

The fire in the Springboks was not quite quelled just yet though and they roared back with Willie le Roux dotting down in the corner, but the try was disallowed because the TMO ruled he was in front of the kicker.

But two minutes later, TMO Marius Jonker awarded the try after Pieter-Steph du Toit had picked up a wayward pass, burst clear and passed out wide to Makazole Mapimpi. Du Toit then attempted to collect the wing’s deft kick infield, but seemed to over-run the ball, with scrumhalf Faf de Klerk then picking up and scoring. Jonker ruled that Du Toit’s hands had missed the ball, which bounced off his leg.

In both cases, replays suggested the under-pressure South African TMO was quite correct.

Pollard crucially missed the conversion and it was the first sign that the Boks were starting to flag, to lose their intensity.

The Lions went back to basics, adopted the tactics associated with the Springboks – the box-kick and the rolling maul – and the home side were not able to handle their own weapons being turned against them. The territory statistics turned around totally.

The pressure led to a trio of penalties kicked by Dan Biggar, in the 52^nd, 57^th and 63^rd minutes. The coup de grace was landed by replacement Owen Farrell, with a penalty two minutes from full time.

The failure of the bench to make much impact will probably be the biggest concern for the Springboks, seeing as though it was the key component of their World Cup triumph.

Scorers

South Africa – Try: Faf de Klerk. Penalties: Handre Pollard (4).

British & Irish Lions – Try: Luke Cowan-Dickie. Conversion: Dan Biggar. Penalties: Biggar (4), Owen Farrell.

A top-class British and Irish Lions side that can play in a variety of ways awaits the Springboks at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

A World Cup winning Springboks side that has a simple, but highly effective game-plan awaits the British and Irish Lions at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

So who is going to win what should be a gripping encounter? Either way, it is surely going to be a Test that keeps everyone on the edge of their seats.

A lack of international rugby since winning the World Cup has been held against the Springboks’ chances, but perhaps a team that has a simple, more focused strategy is going to be able to deal better with what will be a high-pressure game full of intensity.

The Lions seem intent on playing a high-tempo game that stretches the Springboks in the wide channels, but having so many options at their disposal could actually be a negative. Running around like excited puppies is not going to win the tourists the first Test, especially against a side that relishes defending as vigorously as South Africa do. The defeat to the SA A side showed the Lions that they too are human and costly errors were made under pressure.

Obviously having great depth in playing resources is a positive, but the other side of that coin is that there may be a lack of certainty in exactly what the Lions are planning to do on Saturday. Coach Warren Gatland made a great deal of how he and his coaching staff all had different selections when it came to the 23 for the first Test.

Eventually the team was chosen by consensus, but the possibility of horse-trading exists and this could lead to a lack of a united, singular vision for the Lions.

So what are the potential weaknesses of the Springboks?

Their backline all played and shone in that World Cup final win over England in 2019, but key players in Handre Pollard, Damian de Allende and Makazole Mapimpi could be a little short of rugby.

But, as in all closely-contested Test matches, it is all going to come down to the forwards. The selection of the two players who did not feature in the World Cup – loosehead prop Ox Nche and eighthman Kwagga Smith – would seem to be all about mobility and being able to defend in those wide channels the Lions have used so effectively.

While Nche is a wonderful ball-playing prop, and a strong defender, all eyes – and possibly even the outcome of the match – are going to be on his scrum battle with Tadhg Furlong, who many consider to be the best tighthead in the world.

Smith made his name in the Green and Gold colours of the Springbok Sevens team and he is a wonderful athlete and potent with ball in hand. He will have a key role at the breakdown and in defending the wide channels with Pieter-Steph du Toit. But Smith lacks the physicality of his predecessor, the injured Duane Vermeulen, which could make a difference when it comes to the key gainline battles which South Africa need to dominate.

Re the gainline battle, it is going to be interesting to see how the Lions cope with the likes of Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx and Rynhardt Elstadt coming off the bench in the second half to back up the mighty Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert.

The fact that the phonelines have been buzzing between the Lions camp and WorldRugby over a South African TMO being appointed and Rassie Erasmus acting as a waterboy on the side of the field suggests the tourists are feeling the pressure.

In many ways they are the favourites, which has allowed Jacques Nienaber and the Springboks to go into the match a little more under the radar.

An epic test awaits, but what a pity there won’t be 55 000 fans cheering on in the ears of the players.