Ken Borland

Five years ago a young Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg made the brave choice to leave his mom and dad behind in Pretoria and move to France. Now he is back in South Africa and poised to make his Springbok debut off the bench in the second Rugby Championship Test against Argentina at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

In three years at the Bulls between 2014 and 2016, he had only played five Super Rugby matches. It was Jake White, ever the sharp eye for talent, who made contact as he was then coaching Montpellier.

Janse van Rensburg’s leap of faith has certainly paid off and White this week fondly remembered the kid who arrived at Montpellier and how much he has now grown.

“I’m very proud and happy for him, he’s gone a different route. He hadn’t really put his hand up here yet, in his age-group there were so many unbelievable locks, so he decided to go away from South Africa and he has really grown up. He made some massive sacrifices along the way, leaving his parents behind, and he first of all just joined the Montpellier Academy as a 21-year-old prospect. He still had to qualify to play senior rugby.

“I still remember when he arrived at Montpellier, this little blond-haired boy from Affies, very quiet and reserved. Now he’s married with a kid. Having been through all that, he did not coast to where he is now, he’s tougher and wiser and I have no doubt he will cope at international level,” White, ironically now coaching the Bulls, said.

Both White and veteran Springbok lock Lood de Jager, who will play his 50^th Test on Saturday and is likely to partner Janse van Rensburg in the second row in the second half, pointed to the two-metre tall, 115kg, 27-year-old’s ability to organise the lineout as being a key strength.

“His point of difference is that he can play lock and No.7, and he calls the lineouts. He’s a hard worker, he’s been playing in a tough league, with and against some of the best players in the world,” White pointed out.

“Nicolaas has been in France for a few years and is now one of Montpellier’s key players, he runs the lineout there. He works hard in training and off the field he does a lot of analysis on the opposition’s lineouts as well,” De Jager, who would have crossed swords with Janse van Rensburg when the Sale Sharks met the French club in European competition, said.

Impressive as the Springboks’ 32-12 win over Argentina was, forwards coach Deon Davids said on Monday that it was far from a 10/10 performance and they will be striving for more consistent excellence this weekend against the same opposition and in the same Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Although there are unlikely to be wholesale changes to the team, tinkering in the interests of keeping some players fresh and others involved could see as many as 10 players wearing a different number on their backs on Saturday.

And one of the significant changes could come in the No.10 jersey. Elton Jantjies’ tendency to mix some skilful moments with basic errors could see him come off the bench on Saturday, with Morne Steyn starting at flyhalf. Damian Willemse also had a mixed day at fullback and there will certainly be plenty of people excited about the prospect of Aphelele Fassi returning to his regular position.

Captain Siya Kolisi played against Argentina despite having gastric flu and, given his all-out effort during the British and Irish Lions series, there is certainly an argument to be made for him to be rested ahead of the huge challenges in Australasia.

Davids said on Monday though that Duane Vermeulen is still two-to-three weeks away from playing, so who would take over the captaincy is an issue. Eben Etzebeth has captained the Springboks before, although ideally he would be resting as well were it not for the injuries to Rynhardt Elstadt, Jean-Luc du Preez, RG Snyman and Pieter-Steph du Toit.

Kwagga Smith can easily play openside flank and Dan du Preez could come in on the blindside, but an injury to Marco van Staden could force the Springboks back into a 5-3 bench.

Davids also confirmed that scrumhalves Herschel Jantjies and Faf de Klerk are also still unavailable for this weekend.

“We want a more consistent performance. The players generally made the right decisions, but the execution was not always where we want it to be. But they found solutions as the game went on, especially in the scrums and lineout. We want to ensure we grow and get better in our execution, make sure that flows into Saturday’s game.

“We are very happy with the guys that stepped in against a quality side. It was obviously a big step up the youngsters had to make and we were glad with the way they reacted. In selection, we will look at performance, but also the freshness of the players and we want to build depth and experience into the group. Those considerations all have to be balanced,” Davids said.

Judging by last weekend’s performance, the depth in Springbok rugby is okay.

“There were some big moments that the players handled well. That was testament to the base of talent that we have, how the guys assist each other and the leadership of the senior players and how the youngsters react to that. It speaks to a whole team effort and it was a good learning experience against a very competitive team. We now have a base to move from,” Davids said.

Possible Springbok team: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Jesse Kriel, Francois Steyn, Rosko Specman, Morne Steyn, Cobus Reinach, Jasper Wiese, Dan du Preez, Kwagga Smith, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche. Bench – Trevor Nyakane, Joseph Dweba, Vincent Koch, Marvin Orie, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Jaden Hendrikse, Elton Jantjies, Damian Willemse.

Jasper Wiese had big boots to fill standing in for the injured Duane Vermeulen but he says he is settling in at No.8 in the Springbok team and he certainly looked most comfy there in his barnstorming display against Argentina at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at the weekend.

The Leicester Tigers star was playing his fourth Test, having made his debut against Georgia at the beginning of last month and then starting the second and third Tests against the British and Irish Lions, which the Springboks won to take the series. Wiese carried the ball superbly against Argentina and was involved in almost aspects of play.

“I’m definitely settling in and the players around me give me confidence. Although I got man of the match, it was really a team performance. The guys are all so positive and lifting each other up, it’s an amazing squad. The first thing we have to do is put the team first and as individuals we must know our role. You put yourself behind the team’s interests.

“You are playing for something bigger than yourself; playing for yourself is the worst thing you can do, you can’t try to shine by yourself. It’s difficult to put into words how it felt coming into the team, I was half star-struck. There are players that you look up to so much and it is so special to share a field with them. A good individual game does not happen without the 14 other players around you,” Wiese said.

Hailing from Upington, Wiese played most of his senior rugby in the Free State before joining Leicester last year, and he has also looked at home doing Vermeulen’s trademark job of fielding the kickoffs and charging back at the opposition, establishing a bulkhead for the Springboks. Now that Vermeulen is back in the squad, the 25-year-old says he is delighted to have the World Cup hero around.

“Nobody else can be Duane Vermeulen. But I have taken confidence from him helping me at training sessions, the experience he brings, the way he puts the team first. He might not be playing but he’s really helping the guys. I really respect him and he helps you to reach into yourself and find something special. I’m sure he will be massive when he plays again. He’s such a unit,” Wiese said.

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has no reason to massage the egos of the Argentina forwards so when he said on Friday that their pack was similar to the one he leads it was perhaps the ultimate compliment. And an indicator of how stiff a challenge the South African team face in their opening Rugby Championship match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

Argentina coach Mario Ledesma has said this week that taking on the Springbok pack is the toughest challenge his forwards will face, and Kolisi returned the compliment by saying the Pumas pack was similar. Pablo Matera and Facunda Isa are world-class loose forwards, locks Guido Petti and Marcos Kremer can mix it with the best and Julian Montoya and Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro provide plenty of fire in the front row.

“It’s a big challenge for us too against the Argentina forwards, they are a very strong pack who pride themselves on mauling and scrumming, and at the breakdown they all get involved. They are similar to us and that’s what makes it so difficult. So there is definitely mutual respect between the two packs. They are a completely different challenge to the Lions.

“So we have done no less preparation for them. We have to make sure we can get our own game going, if we get it right then it doesn’t matter who we are playing against. Obviously Argentina will want to prove a point. We know the challenge they’ll pose – a strong pack with their ball-carries and guys really getting into the breakdown,” Kolisi said on Friday.

Several new faces have been brought in to refresh the team after their huge exertions in the British and Irish Lions series and Kolisi said they have an important role to play in keeping the Springboks in the number one spot in the world rankings in what will be an incredibly tough Rugby Championship.

“The guys getting an opportunity to play and Joseph Dweba playing his first Test are very hungry and they really want to play, so they are going to bring energy. We want Joseph, who I know is very excited, Ox Nche and Wilco Louw to take charge in the scrum battle. And myself and Kwagga Smith have played together quite a bit and we work well together.

“The goal after winning the World Cup was to maintain our number one ranking and consistently stay there. We don’t want to be once-off winners. We want to win more games and trophies, that’s how we will keep being number one. The coaches give us simple messages to play simple rugby, they want us to focus on the stuff that does not require talent and I love it,’ Kolisi said.