NEIL DE KOCK
FORMER SARACENS AND SPRINGBOKS SCRUM-HALF
HAVING beaten the Springboks in Auckland, the All Blacks certainly have one hand on the trophy due to the fact it’s a single round Rugby Championship in a World Cup year.
The All Blacks were superb at Mount Smart Stadium, particularly in the first quarter, but aside from the first 20 minutes where the Boks really struggled to keep a lid on the All Blacks, I don’t think Jacques Nienaber’s charges will be too disappointed with the form they showed last weekend. Five years ago, the Boks could have taken 40 points against the All Blacks, but their fightback underlined the resilience in this side.
An interesting statistic from the 104th Test match between the old foes showed that the All Blacks kicked 28 times as opposed to South Africa’s 14. Those numbers did seem a little bit strange. Normally if you look at those stats they will be more even or probably the other way round from a kicking perspective. You could say it was a bit of shadow boxing in the first Test between the two sides in the build-up to a World Cup. The sides meet again next month at Twickenham and it appeared that the Boks were also holding back some tactics at the lineout, having hardly contested the All Black throw-ins in Auckland.
One New Zealand scribe wasn’t impressed with the Bok display and wrote: “This was an old Springbok side. A team of World Cup-winners nearer the end of their careers than the start.”
There is some fairness in the comment as there are going to be players who aren’t going to be playing at another World Cup. But when it comes to the likes of Eben Etzebeth and his era, there is still a lot of fuel left in the tank. Granted there are quite a few players who aren’t going to play in another World Cup, it doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t at the peak of their powers. Ten years ago, a player in his early to mid-thirties was considered over the hill and ready for retirement. The game has changed and you now see more 30-somethings playing top-level rugby. That approach served the Springboks pretty well in 2007 with a couple of players, like Percy Montgomery and Os du Randt, who were supposedly near the tailend of their careers.
With Handre Pollard still out injured, the Damian Willemse/ Manie Libbok debate is an important one to resolve. While Pollard is slated to return from injury next month in time to face Wales in a World Cup warm-up match, we have to plan and prepare as if Pollard won’t be playing. Moreover, given the fact that the Leicester Tigers fly-half wouldn’t have played a lot of rugby before the World Cup because of a niggling calf injury, you can’t hedge your bets that he’s going to be good for consecutive games. The 29-year-old is one of the players the Boks will need to manage carefully to maximise his World Cup contribution. Meanwhile, a player like Duane Vermeulen is not going to play every match – even though he probably could – so it’s about keeping him and the likes of star back Lukhanyo Am match-ready but not flogging them.
I would like to see an out-and-out number 10 like Libbok step up. He played week-in, week-out for the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship and performed so well. Willemse serves as a superb back-up at fly-half, centre and full-back but Libbok should be prepared to take over the fly-half role if need be. He has been in the saddle for a few years now within the Stormers set-up and is ready for that opportunity to step up.
In addition, the value of an accurate goal-kicker also shouldn’t be understated. In 2007, Montgomery missed only two kicks over the whole World Cup. A quality goal-kicker is going to win you Test matches. Against the All Blacks, pre-match it was a case of who is going to kick. Faf de Klerk and Cheslin Kolbe stepped up. They are super capable and on any given day they can nail all their goal kicks but the question is: over an extended period will they be able to kick at that percentage? Libbok’s percentages have been pretty high in URC. He has taken on that responsibility and has had the pressure of goal-kicking on his shoulders the whole season. Mov- ing forward, I think it would be a dangerous game going into a Test without a recognised goal-kicker.
The Springboks selectors also have some head scratching to do when it comes to their three scrum-halves. Last week I wrote about England, who are erring on the side of caution when it comes to their nines. It looks like they are going for much more experience in the half-back role. whereas the Boks may opt to sandwich Jaden Hendrikse and Grant Williams between De Klerk. The pair are relatively young as far as Test experience goes but De Klerk will definitely be one of the chosen three. He has played on the big stage for a long time and has amassed 46 Test caps. The 31-yearold is a big-game player and nothing really fazes him. He is a real fighter, is brilliant defensively and he always gets under the skin of the opposition nines.
Williams has been a revelation and I really liked what I saw from Hendrikse last year playing for the Boks. I thought he was probably the best scrum-half at that time in the season. He has been absent of late – owing to injury and the death of his father – but I would love to see him have a run out.
Cobus Reinach and Herschel Jantjies are also in the mix. In terms of the former, it would be hard to see someone like him in particular miss out on a plane ticket to France. He has that X-factor and, owing to his devastating speed, could be used as a utility back to cover scrum-half and wing for the famed Bomb Squad. Jantjies fought back into the Stormers line-up and made the No.9 jersey his for the latter part of the season when there were question marks around his form. Fair play to him because he really rose to the occasion and has put his hand up for higher honours.
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