Erasmus makes a plan at scrumhalf‚ fullback and in the pack for Twickenham Test
Scrumhalf is a necessary evil of rugby‚ a position that needs to be filled for the damn straight but unloved reason that somebody has to shovel the ball from the forwards to the backs.
And then Faf de Klerk arrives to spear tackle that notion into touch with some of the most creative‚ rivetting play yet seen from someone in a No 9 jersey.
Thing is‚ De Klerk is among the star players who won’t run out for the Springboks against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Some of the others are fullback Willie le Roux‚ wing Cheslin Kolbe and loose forward Francois Louw.
They are all in rude health. But‚ even more rudely‚ they are unavailable because the match is outside World Rugby’s window for Tests.
So a boer had to make a plan‚ and despite that fact that scrumhalf Embrose Papier has been on the bench for the Boks’ last two games‚ the earth will not move for him on Saturday — he is again among the replacements.
Instead‚ Ivan van Zyl has cracked the nod. Why?
“It’s an obvious question that a lot of people will ask‚” the boer who had to make that plan‚ Bok coach Rassie Erasmus‚ said on Thursday after announcing his team.
“I just think that [with] conditions and the tactical way England play‚ Ivan is maybe a better fit to start.
“Embrose is a more instinctive player‚ which is great on hard grounds.
“I think he’ll definitely have an impact on this game‚ [but] in these conditions and the tactical way we want to play against England‚ Ivan is a better choice.”
Did Van Zyl‚ who has played three Tests‚ all this year‚ but is more conservative — limited‚ even — than his peers have the varying skills to cope with the challenge?
“In my experience of these conditions you don’t need a lot of versatility‚” Erasmus said‚ a backhanded compliment if ever there was one.
“You have to be very smart tactically‚ and you have to control things sometimes with the boot depending what the weather does.”
Thunder grumbled over London on Thursday and intermediate showers throughout the day added grimness to the greyness of the skies.
But Saturday‚ the forecast says‚ should by dry and partly cloudy.
Whatever the weather‚ it will be a Red Letter day for Damian Willemse‚ who will start at fullback for the first time.
“We’ve always had Willie le Roux available‚ and that’s a luxury‚” Erasmus said.
“Luckily Damian has been with us for most of the Test matches and he’s very comfortable in the setup.
“You have to start a Test match somewhere and I don’t think it gets much bigger than Twickenham against England.”
Then there’s what Erasmus described as‚ “Jislaaik — there’s four locks!”
But one of them‚ Pieter-Steph du Toit will spend “probably about 40” minutes in the tight five before being moved to flank.
That’s Erasmus’s plan to ease back into the fray all 2.05 metres of Lood de Jager‚ who has been out with torn pectoral since May 12 and has been named on the bench.
Still another part of the blueprint was the bigger work in progress‚ as Erasmus explained: “We’re in the process of evolving from just being a grunting‚ bulking‚ running-over-you team.”
The XV shows seven changes from the side that started South Africa’s last match‚ against New Zealand at Loftus Versveld on October 6. Did all the unnecessary tinkering irk Erasmus?
“When we accepted the Test match we knew what the rules were‚” he said. “It can’t annoy us after we’ve accepted the Test.”
At least the missing players will come back to the fold for the remaining games of a tour‚ against France‚ Scotland and Wales‚ that ends on November 24.
Eddie Jones and England have bigger problems‚ what with their ranks decimated by injury.
Consequently their loose trio have only 10 caps between them‚ and their props have started just four Tests.
So‚ amid all that uncertainty‚ is Jones being silly to chuck Dylan Hartley and Owen Farrell into that mix as‚ of all things‚ co-captains?
Erasmus saw that one coming: “To comment on what other coaches do is sometimes the wrongest thing you can do.
“It’s different cultures and different ways of doing things. He’s a smart coach.
“He’s beaten the Springboks with a Japanese team [34-32 at the 2015 World Cup]‚ so I shouldn’t sit here and comment on anything he’s doing.”
Besides‚ Erasmus quipped‚ people could look at his team and say‚ “between your 9 and 15 you’ve got two or three caps”.
Make that 122‚ in fact‚ Rassie. Jones won’t be the only smart man at Twickenham on Saturday.
South Africa (in order of name‚ surname‚ province‚ Test caps‚ Test points):
- 15. Damian Willemse (Western Province‚ 3‚ 0)
- 14. Sbu Nkosi (Sharks‚ 3‚ 10 - 2t)
- 13. Jesse Kriel (Blue Bulls‚ 36‚ 50 - 10t)
- 12. Damian de Allende (Western Province‚ 33‚ 20 - 4t)
- 11. Aphiwe Dyantyi (Golden Lions‚ 9‚ 30 - 6t)
- 10. Handré Pollard (Blue Bulls‚ 35‚ 293 - 3t‚ 55c‚ 53p‚ 3d)
- 9. Ivan van Zyl (Blue Bulls‚ 3‚ 0)
- 8. Warren Whiteley (Golden Lions ‚ 21‚ 15 - 3t)
- 7. Duane Vermeulen (Spears‚ Japan‚ 42‚ 15 - 3t)
- 6. Siya Kolisi (captain‚ Western Province‚ 37‚ 25 - 5t)
- 5. Pieter-Steph du Toit (Western Province‚ 42‚ 20 - 4t)
- 4. Eben Etzebeth (Western Province‚ 73‚ 15 - 3t)
- 3. Frans Malherbe (Western Province‚ 25‚ 0)
- 2. Malcolm Marx (Golden Lions‚ 20‚ 20 - 4t)
- 1. Steven Kitshoff (Western Province‚ 33‚ 5 - 1t)
- Replacements:
- 16. Bongi Mbonambi (Western Province‚ 10 - 2t)
- 17. Thomas du Toit (Sharks‚ 5‚ 0)
- 18. Wilco Louw (Western Province‚ 11‚ 0)
- 19. RG Snyman (Blue Bulls‚ 8‚ 0)
- 20. Lood de Jager (Blue Bulls‚ 36‚ 20 - 4t)
- 21. Embrose Papier (Blue Bulls‚ 4‚ 0)
- 22. Elton Jantjies (Golden Lions‚ 29‚ 223 - 2t‚ 42c‚ 43p)
- 23. André Esterhuizen (Sharks‚ 5‚ 0)