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.

Losing 50% of their outstanding World Cup second row quartet would be sheer bad luck for the Springboks, especially with the British and Irish Lions having such brilliant lineout forwards as Alun-Wyn Jones, Maro Itoje and Courtney Lawes in their ranks, but forwards coach Deon Davids is hopeful that RG Snyman and Lood de Jager will still be able to feature against the tourists.

While Franco Mostert and Eben Etzebeth are fit and a great combination, Snyman, apart from the bad burns he suffered in the Munster fire-pit incident, had the misfortune to suffer another knee injury last month just when his rehab from a rupture of his ACL ligament was nearing completion, while De Jager suffered a particularly nasty injury when he broke his tibia in December, also damaging his ankle and knee in the process.

“It’s an ongoing process with RG and Lood, they are busy with rehab, and hopefully they can join us in the next couple of weeks to come. All the overseas players will be here on Sunday and they will have a thorough assessment so we can see where they are exactly medically. We will know then if they will take part.

“Obviously the lineouts are going to be key against the Lions, but it doesn’t only end with the locks, the combination of the loose forwards needs to be added in there too. Wyn-Jones and Itoje are world-class, but Lawes is also a very good lineout athlete. It’s going to be an interesting battle because if we have all our locks available, they have proven their worth at the World Cup,” Davids said from Bloemfontein on Wednesday.

The Springbok forwards coach also confirmed that they were keen on having Duane Vermeulen, currently recovering from ankle surgery, in the camp even if just in an off-field capacity.

That Vermeulen is an inspirational presence can be seen by the Bulls pretty much turning into cows in his absence, and the man of the match in the 2019 World Cup final is certainly a talisman for the Springboks as well.

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.

When Willie le Roux hared off to Wasps in 2017 he knew that he was putting his Springbok career at risk such were the stricter rules surrounding the use of overseas players at the time. But he was still in the Green and Gold two years later and his experience at fullback was important in winning the 2019 World Cup.

And now, with almost another two years having passed, Le Roux is still the first-choice fullback at an evergreen 31-years-old. This is both a blessing and a concern because should the Toyota Verblitz star get injured, it is probably the position in the squad for the series against the British and Irish Lions where coach Jacques Nienaber has the least back-up, especially with Warrick Gelant unlikely to recover in time from his ACL surgery.

Damian Willemse was a late call-up to the World Cup squad as a replacement for Jesse Kriel and has only accumulated six caps. His recent form for the Stormers has been promising rather than spectacular and there are many who believe Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi should now be considered the back-up to Le Roux.

Fassi himself is uncapped though and the development of his undoubted talent was put back a bit by the serious shoulder injury he suffered last year.

So fullback looks a little thin for Nienaber’s liking, and he could be looking at utility players like Francois Steyn, Johan Goosen or Raymond Rhule to provide cover there or maybe even Kriel, Handre Pollard or Sbu Nkosi in an emergency.

In terms of the all-important tight five, while there is pleasing depth in the front row and lots of in-form Black stars like Bongi Mbonambi, Lizo Gqoboka, Ox Nche, Scarra Ntubeni, Joseph Dweba and Trevor Nyakane to choose from, injuries have marred Nienaber’s options at lock.

World Cup winners RG Snyman and Lood de Jager are both racing against time to be fit and are unlikely to make the 45-man squad that will be announced on Saturday.

While the Springboks’ starting pair of Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert are absolutely world-class, there is a lack of experience thereafter.

Marvin Orie has been capped only three times and Jason Jenkins has played just a solitary Test. The other two main contenders for a place – Ruan Nortje and JD Schickerling – would both be making their international debuts.

Toulouse hardman Rynhardt Elstadt has helped his French club to European glory and top of the log domestically, and can cover lock as well, but has played just two Tests. The Springbok management will be loathe to move Pieter-Steph du Toit to the second row given what a tremendous impact he has had playing on the flank.