Ken Borland

The Springboks still have 20 of the 23 players (presuming Duane Vermeulen will be unavailable until the closing stages of the Lions series) who featured in the 2019 World Cup final available as they return to international action. So there is probably not much scope for fresh faces to burst on to the scene, but there are still opportunities for some players to show they can be trustworthy regulars in the couple of years leading into the next World Cup.

Trevor Nyakane: The 32-year-old suffered the misfortune of being injured in the first week of the 2019 World Cup and missed out on the final. One of seven props in the squad, the Bulls star will want to return to his pre-eminent place in the tighthead pecking order alongside Frans Malherbe and will need to see off the claims of Vincent Koch, who came off the bench early in the second half of the World Cup final, and the versatile pairing of Thomas du Toit and Coenie Oosthuzen, who can both be considered ‘swing props’.

But Nyakane says he is up for the challenge – “This is a completely different environment, there’s less room for error and all the players are top-quality. So you need to step up to that level, make it as hard as possible when it comes to selection, give them a headache when it comes to picking, Healthy competition Is good.”

Marco van Staden: The Bulls No.6 is sometimes described as a ‘typical fetcher who gives away lots of penalties’, but this is misleading because Van Staden has contributed in so many different aspects of play for the South African pace-setters – while he has conceded 11 penalties in the Rainbow Cup and won several turnovers, he has also won 91% of the tackles he was called to make and gains 2.1 metres per ball-carry. So he is tending towards the sort of hybrid flank that could be very useful to Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber’s replacements bench.

Rynhardt Elstadt: When people think of the 31-year-old Toulouse star, they have a picture of a hugely physical loose forward making big carries and bashing away on the gain-line. But Elstadt has developed his game at the European champions and has also become a trustworthy lineout forward. With locks Lood de Jager and RG Snyman both in doubt due to injury concerns, Elstadt has the chance to become a regular in the Springbok 23 particularly because of his utility value.

“For us, coming from this side of the world, we can have a bit more of a contribution, I hope. We have played a bit more rugby up in the northern hemisphere than the guys in the south. They have only been playing against each other, whereas we have played a lot against the guys in the Premiership and Pro14 who will be on the Lions tour. We have got quite a good feeling about it, I am really amped to be going and joining the boys and see if we can’t go and win another title,” Elstadt told the Talking Rugby Union website this week.

Steven Kitshoff has spent a long time sharing the Springbok loosehead duties with the great Tendai Mtawarira, but now that the ‘Beast’ has retired, the Stormers powerhouse will be the undisputed wearer of South Africa’s No.1 jersey in the series against the British and Irish Lions, but says being in the hot seat is not going to change his approach to Test rugby.

Mtawarira is the most-capped Springbok prop ever with 117 appearances stretching from 2008 to the triumphant 2019 World Cup final. Kitshoff made his Test debut in 2016 and has amassed 47 caps, but only 12 of those have been starts.

“Playing with and behind Beast was a massive honour and it was a privilege to learn from him. He is one of the great legends of the game. But now that he has retired, I’ll bring a similar approach as before to the game, I’ll focus on just doing my job the best I can for the team, and be willing to sacrifice for the team. My preparation will be the same.

“I’ll be putting in the same hard work every week leading up to the game. I’ll just be trying my best to represent my country and uphold the jersey as best I can, because I remember back in 2009, I was still in Grade XI and it was awesome to watch Beast scrum Phil Vickery on the last Lions tour here,” Kitshoff said.

The absence of Mtawarira robs the Springboks of one of their main leaders and has been exacerbated by the probable loss of Duane Vermeulen to an ankle injury. And while inspirational skipper Siya Kolisi will still very much have his hands on the tiller, Kitshoff says it will be all hands on deck in terms of the other leaders in the team stepping up.

“Duane plays a massive role in the side. I have no idea how long his rehab is going to take and I wish him all the best and a speedy recovery. He will definitely be missed, but we have a great group of players and leaders who are ready to step up and sacrifice anything for the jersey. There are still unbelievable leaders in the group and there are key guys running certain positions.

“That makes the game so much easier because it helps you control certain situations. As senior players now we must just step up and make sure we bring our side of the deal. Playing against the Lions is always one of the hardest series, up there with the World Cup, the toughest few weeks of your life. We’re working day-by-day to get our stuff in order and to have clarity in playing to our strengths,” Kitshoff said.

The Bulls will fly to Italy on Monday night for the Rainbow Cup final with a powerful squad missing just three Springboks as they look to transfer their dominance of South African rugby to the European stage.

The Bulls will be taking on Benetton Treviso, the surprise winners of the European leg of the competition, and it looks like coach Jake White is only going to have to make two changes to the starting line-up that led them to an impressive win over the Sharks last weekend and a place in the final.

To think that only Morne Steyn, Marco van Staden and Trevor Nyakane are in the Springboks’ plans for the series against the British and Irish Lions is quite astonishing when one considers that the Bulls have won every trophy on offer in South Africa in the last year.

And White is in the fortunate position of being able to replace Van Staden and Nyakane with fellow Springboks in Nizaam Carr and Lizo Gqoboka.

Carr has mostly played eighthman for the Bulls when Duane Vermeulen has been resting, but Marcell Coetzee has shifted seamlessly into the injured talisman’s position at the back of the scrum, and Carr is certainly not going to feel out of place at openside flank, having played there many times before for the Stormers and the Springboks.

Gqoboka is fit to play after a foot injury that was blamed for keeping him out of the Springbok squad, with Jacques van Rooyen able to cover tighthead prop in the absence of Nyakane.

Steyn is likely to be replaced by Chris Smith, who has shown on numerous occasions already that he is going to be a very handy performer for the Bulls going forward.

Exciting lock prospect Ruan Nortje did very well in Durban in his first outing as the Bulls’ blindside flank, and if the conditions in Treviso suit running rugby then he could well continue in that position, with Janko Swanepoel and Walt Steenkamp once again teaming up in the second row.

The unrelated Muller and Jan Uys could both be on the bench, with the exciting young Zak Burger suiting up as the replacement scrumhalf.

Bulls squad

Forwards: Lizo Gqoboka, Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Schalk Erasmus, Sydney Tobias, Jacques Van Rooyen, Mornay Smith, Robert Hunt, Ruan Nortje, Janko Swanepoel, Jan Uys, Walt Steenkamp, WJ Steenkamp, Muller Uys, Marcell Coetzee, Nizaam Carr.

Backs: Ivan Van Zyl, Zak Burger, Keagan Johannes, Chris Smith, Clinton Swart, Cornal Hendricks, Marco Janse van Vuren, Stravino Jacobs, Madosh Tambwe, Dawid Kellerman, Gio Aplon, David Kriel.

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.