Bok coach has a big scrumhalf poser for England clash
The match that could sink the entire tour if it goes wrong
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus can sleep easy at night when he ponders many positions in his team‚ but if his thoughts drift to scrumhalf‚ he might wake up in a cold sweat. With Faf de Klerk unavailable for Saturday’s clash against England at Twickenham — a match that could sink the entire tour if it goes wrong — Erasmus’s options at halfback are slim. De Klerk and others such as fullback Willie le Roux‚ wing Cheslin Kolbe and looseforward Francois Louw are restricted from playing because the Test falls outside World Rugby’s official Test window. The window opens on Sunday and continues throughout November‚ meaning those players are eligible for Tests against France‚ Scotland and Wales. There is adequate back-up for the likes of Louw‚ Kolbe and Le Roux‚ but De Klerk’s absence is going to be keenly felt. Embrose Papier‚ Ivan van Zyl and Louis Schreuder, the three scrumhalves selected to tour, have a combined eight Test caps between them and only Van Zyl‚ with three caps‚ has actually...
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