Bok places are up for grabs, says Nienaber

No-one is safe, declared Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber after a helter-skelter year in which his team hit thrilling highs and infuriating lows.

They finished their international season with arguably their best performance of the year in a comprehensive 27-13 beating of England at Twickenham on Saturday. It will give them considerable feel-good factor as they head into 2023 and the defence of their World Cup crown.

Their end of year tour yielded wins in the last two Tests against Italy and England probably the more vulnerable of the four teams they faced on tour. Though they lost their earlier matches against Ireland and France, the two top ranked teams in the world, the Boks would have had cause to ponder a few “what ifs”  in matches that were there for the taking.

They continued to spread game time in their group which will stand them in good stead next year.

“No-one is sure of their places,” said Nienaber when asked whether flyhalf Damian Willemse and wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, who played leading roles in their last half a dozen matches are now guaranteed starters. “We have Cheslin [Kolbe], [Makazole] Mapimpi, Sbu [Nkosi] so there is a lot of good competition in the group,” said the coach.’

Willemse showed signs of what is to come in the Rugby Championship after Handré Pollard got injured. He had a wobble against Ireland, but his stock rose again in the last three matches on tour.

“At the start of the year we wondered who our best 10 is,” said the coach. “Now we have a couple of guys who can play 10 for us. There is real competition. I don't think anyone is safe,” said the coach who now also has to factor in Manie Libbok.

Nienaber stressed that there was healthy competition in his squad and  the match against England which was played outside the Test window only aided that process.

“We always have a match outside the Test window. In 2018 it was Wales. It is nice for us because it gives us opportunity to play without the overseas-based players. There were a couple of guys that were really knocking hard on the door.

“It is nice to give guys an opportunity in a big game like this to see if they can handle the pressure because it is quite a hostile environment, not in a bad way but a pressure environment.”

That the Boks were able to finish the tour on a high was particularly pleasing because of the number of personnel that were missing. Director of rugby Rassie Erasmus missed the last two match days because of a World Rugby suspension, Duane Vermeulen was rested for the tour, Pieter-Steph du Toit served a ban for the red card he received in Marseille, Lood de Jager was injured in the same game, Pollard and Nkosi didn't make the tour because of injury, while Kolbe, Jasper Wiese, Vincent Koch, Cobus Reinach and André Esternuizen were club tied for the last game.

Trevor Nyakane and possibly RG Snyman if he regains fitness in time can be added to the Bok group which should give them a formidable look next year.

No wonder Nienaber had this message for the players. “You have to go back to your club [franchise] and smash each other to get into the World Cup squad.”

The players are likely to heed that message.

Apart from the depth in the Bok ranks Nienaber now also has options when he tinkers with his team's game plan next year.

The Boks have brought nuance to their attack which brought rich dividends in their last two matches in particular.

It will no doubt add to their armoury as they head to France for the defence of the World Cup.

They may have depth in personnel and variety in their play to mount a serious challenge at the World Cup but the Boks can improve their discipline, or at least their technique going into contact. Pieter-Steph du Toit's red card cost them dearly against France but they were able to ride the storm of Thomas du Toit's banishment at Twickenham.

A case perhaps of lessons learnt in misadventure.

Though the Springboks also returned home with a 50% win ratio from their end of year tour which ultimately cost Allister Coetzee his job in 2017, the Class of '22 will wing their way home with a tailwind.

“This is probably one of the most enjoyable four weeks I’ve had but we only won 50% of our games,” said Nienaber. “I thought the working relationship between the coaching staff, the performance staff and the players, our game drivers there was clarity. I thought we gelled well.

“Though we didn’t get the results in the first two games I thought we were in with a chance.

“I thought we were creative in terms of the plans we made. We stuck to it and gave it a good go. People took ownership from a player and management point of view. That was pleasing.”