Bok selections against All Blacks may bring more posers

Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber and his selectors will have some tantalising Rugby World Cup selection options available to them if things go to script against New Zealand in London on Friday night.

The shift to outside centre of Canan Moodie, the reintroduction of Franco Mostert at lock and Duane Vermeulen at No 8 could provide them much to mull over as they refine their plans in their last warm-up match ahead of their World Cup opener against Scotland on September 10.

Moodie's rise has been meteoric since he was introduced to Test rugby in Sydney last year. To be fair, he has come with a reputation.

Jake White, his head coach at the Bulls, at a luncheon last year described Moodie as the best backline player he has coached, highlighting his instinct and physicality on defence. He then predicted a future move for Moodie to midfield.

By moving Moodie to outside centre, the Bok brains trust perhaps prioritised game time and broadening options over momentum. Moodie will take the No 13 jersey from Jesse Kriel, who had just started lengthening his stride in the place of the injured Lukhanyo Am.

Moodie, though, may give the selectors more to chew on as they head for France. The 20-year-old's ability to make defensive reads and his gangly — make that overwhelming — physical presence make him a handful.

Should the All Blacks' Rieko Ioane crack the nod in the No 13 jersey this week, their midfield confrontation will be eagerly observed.

In Mostert, the Boks have a player who over the past seven years has experienced the agony and ecstasy of playing against the All Blacks.

His history against New Zealand almost mirrors that of the Springboks since 2016. The first time he played against the All Blacks was in the 41-13 loss in Christchurch, but he missed the chastening 57-15 a month later. He has since, however, experienced all the twists and turns of the Boks' rollercoaster against their greatest rivals.

He was part of the team that, having lost 57-0 in Albany and, three weeks later, by a point at Newlands, beat the All Blacks by two points in Wellington in 2018 and lost by the same margin at Loftus three weeks later.

He was also part of the team that drew in Wellington in 2019 en route to the Rugby Championship, but then lost to the All Blacks in their opening match of the World Cup.

He became an integral part of the Bomb Squad later in the tournament and his next four Tests against the All Blacks were all off the bench, until he made the starting line-up as blindside flank in the defeat in Auckland earlier this year.

That was not his best Test, but Mostert returns to a position in which he reached extreme heights for the Boks.

He had been earmarked to play mostly as a blindside flank, but Lood de Jager's injury has changed that dynamic. Significantly, Mostert knows what it takes to win against the All Blacks.

Unlike him, Vermeulen did not suffer the indignity of those lopsided defeats against New Zealand in 2016 and 2017.

He is back at No 8 this week, having had to come off the bench in Auckland earlier this year. In the knowledge that their hulking No 8 would be 37 by the time they head for France, the Boks brains trust built contingencies should Vermeulen fall short of his full-throttle impact in World Cup year.

Jasper Wiese has been groomed as his successor, but Vermeulen isn't ready to disappear into the sunset. His performances this year have been almost as compelling as those he delivered four years ago. The selectors are likely to have a head-scratcher in their meeting ahead of the Scotland game.

Elsewhere in match-day selection, there are others who may need to raise a hand urgently. The back three of Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian Willemse and Makazole Mapimpi will have a lot to live up to on Friday. The men who vacated those jerseys made quite an impression against Wales, but all three starters this week indubitably possess star quality.