Ken Borland

Despite the frustrations of injuries, positive Covid tests and several overseas players only joining the squad at the weekend, the Springboks look set to field at least a dozen of the players who featured in the World Cup final when they take on the rambunctious Georgians at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber is a very rational man and while the Tests against Georgia are important to get both the team and the game-plan gelled before the series against the British and Irish Lions, those overseas players who were not able to attend the camp in Bloemfontein due to their club commitments are likely to miss out this week. They need a week of training with the Springboks to get back into the mix.

So although players like Jean-Luc and Dan du Preez have been receiving rave reviews for their performances for the Sale Sharks, having only just arrived in camp they ae not likely to be chosen for the first Test. Their team-mate Faf de Klerk, who will play a key role in antagonising the Lions, is also likely to temporarily be on the sidelines for the same reason, as will Cheslin Kolbe.

But there could be great excitement for the likes of wing Rosko Specman, eighthman Jasper Wiese, utility forward Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg and scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba, who could make their Springbok debuts thanks to all the absentees.

While Damian de Allende’s fire-pit injuries must have caused some chagrin, his absence will allow Francois Steyn to start at inside centre, the Free Stater having not played much high-intensity rugby recently. Cobus Reinach is favoured to start at scrumhalf while De Klerk gets acclimatised, but the rest of the backline should be the same as the one that won the World Cup final.

Flyhalf Handre Pollard, who has had a frustrating time with injuries since that memorable triumph, was described as “training very well and looking in good shape” by Nienaber on Sunday.

Wiese, of Leicester Tigers, has an early chance to show he is the right replacement for the injured Duane Vermeulen, otherwise the rest of the forwards should be all World Cup winners. They will not want to be embarrassed by a Georgian pack that loves to scrum.

So while there have been some annoyances in their build-up, the Springboks can still field a strong team most capable of controlling the feisty Georgians.

Possible Springbok team for first Test v Georgia: Willie le Roux, Rosko Specman, Lukhanyo Am, Francois Steyn, Makazole Mapimpi, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff. Bench – Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx, Trevor Nyakane, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Kwagga Smith, Sanele Nohamba, Elton Jantjies, Jesse Kriel.

The Springbok camp was rocked by three positive Covid tests on Sunday, but director of rugby Rassie Erasmus said the notion that this would put the two Tests against Georgia and the entire British and Irish Lions tour in doubt was incorrect.

Erasmus revealed that Durban-based wing Sbu Nkosi, tighthead prop Vincent Koch of Saracens and scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies, who has already had Covid, were the three players who tested positive when the squad gathered at their Johannesburg hotel. All three players are asymptomatic but training on Sunday was cancelled as a precautionary measure.

“We’ve been in camp for three weeks without any problems, but this was the first time everyone really assembled, the first time we’ve had all squad members with guys coming in from all over. The three guys who tested positive have to be confined as we fall in now with British and Irish Lions tour protocols. We have advised the tour medical committee and now we wait for the next step.

“But it’s not a big worry for us, I’m fairly confident these are isolated cases, those players have just been unlucky. We’ve followed very strict protocols at our hotel, we weren’t allowed to be in one room before testing and the guys could not go to their own rooms for five to seven hours until they got the results – just to make sure that contacts are minimal.

“I don’t think the Georgia game on Friday is in any doubt, we have a squad of 45 especially for this reason. We will never not have enough players, we can draft players in because they are on testing regimes with their provinces. I’m fairly sure very few guys are infected, this came from something external and the guys have not done anything wrong,” Erasmus said on Sunday.

While the positive tests have spiked the Springboks’ plans on Sunday, most of the groundwork for the first Test against Georgia will already have been laid down. Coach Jacques Nienaber said the Springboks had to be adaptable in these harrowing times.

“It’s not ideal, we would have loved a normal week flow, but it’s important in these times of Covid and changing environments, that we are adaptable, that is key,” Nienaber said.

Both Nkosi and Jantjies were likely to feature in the squad for the Georgia Test at Loftus Versfeld, but the heavy frame of powerhouse Koch was only likely to be seen later because he has been in England and has not been working with the Springboks over the last three weeks.

Forwards coach Deon Davids said on Monday that the fact that there are so many versatile players in the Springbok squad will have a positive effect on selection for the British and Irish Lions series.

While both Jean-Luc du Preez and Rynhardt Elstadt were designated as utility forwards in the official team announcement, the likes of Jasper Wiese, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Dan du Preez, Franco Mostert and Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg can also play in a couple of positions. Four of the seven props also have some experience of playing on the ‘other side’.

“It’s good to have players with versatility and guys like the Du Preez twins and Pieter-Steph are also good lineout forwards. Rynhardt Elstadt can assist at No.4 as well. The Du Preez twins especially have a lot of versatility and can feature in the lineout as both locks and loose forwards. It’s been good to see them take their games to another level with Sale.

“They are quality rugby players, very physical, good lineout forwards and ball-carriers. They can both give and stop momentum. In Europe they have been playing against quality internationals week in and week out. They get involved in battles, they have high work-rate and it’s fantastic to see them step up. We are looking forward to having them here,” Davids said from Bloemfontein.

While some critics have suggested captain Kolisi is not playing well enough at the moment to be a first-choice loose forward, notwithstanding that the omission of the inspirational skipper would really set the cat amongst the pigeons, Davids said the Springbok management have been monitoring the Sharks star that will turn 30 on Youth Day (Wednesday) since his return from injury and they are happy with his progress.

“We have been in communication with Siya and the rest of the players for a while about the fundamentals and technical aspects of their performance. Siya is definitely coming back, there has clearly been an improvement with the way he plays with the ball and especially off the ball. It was fantastic to have him at training today with his experience and just the way he is continually going. He is a core part of the whole pack.

“The camp started with a lot of energy and excitement last week and it’s been a while since we’ve been together for on-field sessions. We now the opportunity to implement the stuff we have spoken about a lot in the alignment camps. Last week went very well and today there was a big focus on our exit plays, then we will do attacking plays and Thursday will be a lot of defence,” Davids said.

The Sharks went into their match against the Lions needing a bonus point win to maintain their hopes of making the Rainbow Cup final and coach Sean Everitt is an apostle of attacking, positive rugby. But there were times when the helter-skelter Sharks seemed destined to get four tries but lose the game and so land on 12 log points, ensuring the Bulls cannot be caught in the last round next weekend.

In the end, the Sharks did eventually repel a gutsy Lions side in the last 10 minutes to register a 33-21 win and they can still win the competition if they beat the Bulls with a bonus point next weekend and don’t allow their visitors any log points.

The Sharks scored three tries in the first half but were still only 19-14 ahead at the break. Their first two tries came through lineout drives and were scored by hooker Kerron van Vuuren.

But their third would have thrilled their coach and was made by outstanding wing Makazole Mapimpi, the World Cup star who rather lorded it over everyone else on the field with a majestic display.

The Lions won a turnover but Sharks fullback Anthony Volmink fielded their kick downfield and had a dart, before passing to Mapimpi, who exploded through a tiny gap, and found scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, who miraculously held off several Lions defenders in mid-air, seemingly levitating as he popped the pass to eighthman Phepsi Buthelezi, another chief among the stars on the field, to score.

It was typical of the Lions, however, that they stayed in the game with a try by loose forward Len Massyn in the sixth minute of extra time.

Mapimpi scored himself eight minutes into the second half and this was just a stunning individual effort. The pass out wide had gone to ground so the Lions defence was set, but Mapimpi stepped and then burst, taking five defenders out of the game as he scored an exceptional try to stretch the lead to 24-14. Last October, the 30-year-old’s incredible off-field story was highlighted by the Chasing the Sun documentary, but in his current form he looks like beiing a sensation on the field in the British and Irish Lions series.

The Lions came back again with a rolling maul try by hooker PJ Botha, but the knockout blow by the Sharks came when replacement flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain regathered his own lovely little dink over the top and passed into space for Volmink to score.

Scorers

Lions – Tries: Andre Warner, Len Massyn, PJ Botha. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (3).

Sharks – Tries: Kerron van Vuuren (2), Phepsi Buthelezi, Makazole Mapimpi, Anthony Volmink. Conversions: Manie Libbok (3), Boeta Chamberlain.