Springboks team: Five takeaways as Rassie Erasmus downplays Siya Kolisi’s 100th while it’s ‘sink or swim time’ for Sacha
Following the announcement of Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks team to tackle France at the Stade de France, here are our five takeaways.
The top line
The Boks boss has made six personnel changes to his side following the comprehensive victory over Japan at Wembley last week, for the grudge match with Les Bleus.
Many of these alterations were incredibly predictable or even telegraphed, considering that last week’s encounter was outside the official World Rugby international window, but Erasmus has still managed to include a surprise or two.
In fact, Erasmus might as well have texted France boss Fabien Galthie that Thomas du Toit, a rested Pieter-Steph du Toit, and a fit-again Damian Willemse would be included in his team last week, but would have concealed a few other selection calls.
Notably, where Thomas du Toit would be lining up following the injury to Ox Nche, as the powerhouse prop could have easily been included in the matchday 23 with the number 1, 3, 17 or 18 on his back. Ultimately, it is the number three jersey with Boan Venter, who has already racked up five Test caps this year, having debuted against Georgia, taking over from the injured Nche.
Eben Etzebeth reclaiming the number four jersey that he has made his own following the retirement of Bakkies Botha is no shock as he combines with Lood de Jager for the 42nd time in the second-row, but it is somewhat of a surprise that RG Snyman joins Ruan Nortje on the bench with Bomb Squad veteran Kwagga Smith omitted in favour of hybrid centre-flanker Andre Esterhuizen, more on that later.
Other than that, it was as you were from the team that hammered Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms, as Erasmus, for the most part, sticks to his notion a week ago that there won’t be heavy rotations this November.
Springboks team: Rassie Erasmus opts for experience in Siya Kolisi’s 100th Test but continues hybrid experiment
The man of the moment
While the head coach and the Springboks squad will be playing down Siya Kolisi’s milestone, the rest of the country won’t, as possibly South Africa’s most loved player ever, notches up his 100th appearance for his country.
After announcing his team to battle Les Bleus, Erasmus, who is celebrating a milestone of his own in taking the head coach reins for the 50th time, spoke glowingly about his skipper but said that it would not be a distraction for the team that has a job to do in Saint-Denis.
“Siya is going to run out 10 seconds earlier [than the rest of the team], and that’s it,” the head coach said.
“We don’t like to make a big thing about it until afterwards, in the team function, that’s where we will do something proper.
“Siya is one of those who, throughout winning World Cups and the British & Irish Lions series, and reaching other milestones, has kept a level head on him.”
He added: “We are very proud of Siya, we are proud to be part of him reaching that milestone, but there are a lot of other guys that are close to milestones, so there’s a lot of them that’s going to come now, but at the end of the day, Siya handled it like Eben handled it when those big milestones came; if you make those things bigger than the match then you tend to come out second best in that match.”
Kolisi has embraced the spotlight since taking on the mantle of captaining the Springboks for the first time against England in 2018 and won’t shy away from it this week. However, he has always and always will put the team first, which in Erasmus’ view means that he is not a good Springbok but a great one.
“In my opinion, there’s a difference between playing for yourself because you’re a Springbok and when you’re playing for your country because you’re a Springbok. That’s why some guys get one or two caps even though their potential is maybe better than guys who are sitting here,” he said.
“We’ve said it to the players often, I think better players are playing out there than those currently here in the squad, but some guys just don’t get it, that it’s about the team and about South Africa and not about how good am I in the team. Yes, when you do it for the team to perform well and you do everything in service to the team, I think that’s the difference.
“Some guys just don’t get it. I was one of them when I was a player at one stage, and for some guys it takes time to get it, and some guys just get it from the start. In my opinion, that’s the difference between a good and a great Springbok player.”
The double World Cup-winning captain has proved that he fits the bill countless times, whether it be with his actions on the pitch, doing the hard graft and less flashy bits, or producing a clutch try saver – like against the British & Irish Lions – or adapting to new role requirements of his position.
Then there are the times where he has essentially handed over the captaincy duties, figuratively or literally, for the betterment of the team. Kolisi has no sense of dictatorial control over the role, revealing previously that he would let Duane Vermeulen take the lead in a huddle early on his captaincy, while doing the same for Etzebeth on occasion. For the clash against the All Blacks at Eden Park, Kolisi insisted that Jesse Kriel retain the armband after the former was a late inclusion in the team. Again, Springboks first, not Siya Kolisi.
Off the field, Kolisi understands his status too and any fan who has bumped into the flanker in a mall, on the street, at the airport or wherever will confirm that he always has time for Bok supporters. Even after games, he is usually the last player to board the bus and leave the field.
“To sum it up, it’s just the way he has stayed humbled,” Erasmus began after another question about his captain – and there were a lot of them.
“When there are photographs to be taken at the airport or wherever, he’s always the guy who still goes there even though he needs to get on a flight or is late for a meeting.
“Whenever he gets a chance, he tries to connect with South Africans because he understands what South Africa is about and he’s been on the on the tough side of being a South African and he’s grown into being one of the great leaders in South Africa; it’s just the humbleness with the way he does it and the way that he always has time for fans whether it’s a young laaitjie to an old woman off the farm, to an uncle from the townships or whoever.
“Our whole team is pretty good at that, not because they think it’s their job, but because they enjoy being part of South Africa and the way that South Africans support us. Siya leads in that specific way.”
In short, Siya simply gets what it means to be Bok on the field and off it, and in both cases delivers above and beyond.
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Centre call
As much as Erasmus is taking this team forward, he still falls back on the tried and tested, and there is no better example of this than the selection in the centres with Damian de Allende and Kriel combining for the 41st time – a Bok record.
De Allende remains the standard bearer for the inside centre role globally despite the increasing pressure from Esterhuizen and even Willemse. But the fact remains that the veteran midfielder is simply the best of the best.
As for who should partner him in the midfield, Erasmus admitted that Canan Moodie was incredibly unlucky to miss out, having performed so well in the Green and Gold jersey at the back end of the Rugby Championship. But ultimately, the temptation to select Kriel to partner Doogz was just too great.
Speaking to SuperSport, the Bok boss revealed that Ethan Hooker and Moodie have been pencilled in as the starters against Italy next week, proving that while the old-heads are getting the nod this time around, the next generation will get its time in the spotlight.
There is a method to what might be perceived as madness. Betting on youth has paid dividends, particularly in the backline this year, but Kriel produced one of his finest performances in the Green and Gold jersey, and there is an impressive catalogue of those across his 85 Tests, against France in the quarter-final two years ago.
Moodie continues to get better and better, but defensively, Kriel is a master and has been there and done that on the biggest stage. With the experienced and simply world-class Gael Fickou in the opposing centres, the Boks clearly want the most tried, tested and proven pairing to limit his and the talented Pierre-Louis Barassi’s influence.
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Sink or swim time
But perhaps the other reason that the most experienced centre pairing in Springboks history has been given the reins on Saturday is to best equip rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu for success in what is one of his most challenging Tests to date.
The 23-year-old playmaker has been thrown into pressure cooker matches several times in his short international career to date, having played against Ireland at Loftus Versfeld, the All Blacks at Ellis Park, Eden Park, and Wellington, but Saturday’s game is another step up.
There probably isn’t a more hostile away venue in international rugby than the Stade de France, and the emotion of the fixture is only intensified by the events that unfolded at this ground two years ago in the World Cup.
It’s not a learning moment for Feinberg-Mngomezulu, but a massive show of confidence and faith in both him and Manie Libbok’s abilities, with the Bok coaching staff resisting the urge to add Handre Pollard on the bench as the ultimate ‘insurance policy’.
Last week, Erasmus said that it’s sink or swim time for Zachary Porthen, who was given his first cap in the starting line-up for the Springboks against Japan and following the injury to Nche, he echoed those sentiments for Venter.
The Edinburgh front-rower has been thrown in the deep end as he has been tasked with filling the void of the best loosehead prop in the game against a mighty Les Bleus pack, but again, the coaching team has given him armbands in the form of Malcolm Marx and Thomas du Toit. Gerhard Steenekamp is the life raft in case of emergency, but if Venter swims, he will not just further prove that he is up to the task but will go a long way to making sure that 2025 is not the last year that he pulls on a Green and Gold jersey and certainly not just as an injury cover.
The same is somewhat true for replacement hooker Johan Grobbelaar, who admitted that this is the biggest Test match he will feature in. It’s plainly obvious that Marx is the go-to first-choice hooker in the Bok squad, but the hooker pecking order is murky beyond him. Jan-Hendrik Wessels is held in high regard as a hooker and loosehead prop, but is currently suspended, while Marnus van der Merwe performed admirably in his first shot at international rugby, while Bongi Mbonambi has seemingly slipped off the pace.
Perform against Les Bleus and for the rest of November, and Grobbelaar could make himself indispensable.
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Bench versatility
The most shocking omission from the Springboks squad has to be Smith’s exclusion from the bench. The livewire back-rower has been the most consistently explosive member of the famed ‘Bomb Squad’ since 2021, but makes way this week for the bigger frame of Esterhuizen.
Smith was a bit of an injury concern on Monday with a hand issue, but trained like ‘a machine’ for the rest of the week, according to Erasmus, explaining that was not the reason for his non-selection. Instead, it is a ploy to better match the threats that France poses.
He detailed that Esterhuizen has made the step up as a flanker since the experiment began earlier this year and offers more in terms of pace. His inclusion means that South Africa essentially has a 6-2 and a 5-3 split on the bench, much like the French with flanker-centre Oscar Jegou. It’s still a bold, brave move from the coaching team as they gamble on a centre-cum-forward to shine against one of the most furious packs in world rugby.
That positional flexibility and versatility are becoming more and more prevalent in the game, with France and South Africa being the trailblazers, with England notably following suit, and this week’s team selections are another nod to just that.
It’s not just with Esterhuizen, though, as Grant Williams has proven that he is more than capable of playing on the wing in the latter stages of matches, while Nortje is becoming more and more of a prospect as a blindside flanker at the international level; a role that Pieter-Steph du Toit dominated for South Africa for years now.
While Libbok, Steenekamp, Louw, Grobbelaar and Snyman are more specialists in their respective positions, the starting line-up does possess more versatility with Cheslin Kolbe covering wing, full-back and the half-backs at a pinch, while Willemse can move into fly-half and centre without fuss.
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