OPINION: Springboks in a very healthy state with phenomenal depth
No Siya Kolisi, no Pieter-Steph du Toit, no Frans Malherbe, no Steven Kitshoff … no problem.
None of these players will feature for the Boks in the team's first two matches this year and in the case of Malherbe, he might not play at all this season, while Kitshoff has in fact retired from rugby.
And though it's disappointing that Kitshoff is no longer in the mix and injuries and setbacks cause players to miss out, including Damian Willemse for the whole of last season and Faf de Klerk for a big chunk of it, the reality is the Springboks have got so many quality players in their system it doesn't matter anymore what team Rassie Erasmus puts out.
It's been said before, but it's worth saying again: Does Erasmus even know what his strongest team is?
That is the beauty of where the Boks are again, two years out from the Rugby World Cup.
Besides the obvious first-choice men such as Cheslin Kolbe, Ox Nche and Du Toit, who are the Boks' best fullback, flyhalf, scrumhalf, No 8, lock pairing, tighthead prop, hooker?
Springbok rugby has not been in a more healthy state
Of course, those players who have been in the Bok set-up for a while now and have tons of experience and have lifted two Webb Ellis Cups, like Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel, Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi, to name a few, are still very much in the picture and possibly among the first-choice picks, but will they still be that in two years' time?
No one ever questions a Bok team anymore. Ever.
Last week's side that faced the Barbarians had a good look about it, this week's team to take on Italy is just as exciting, and so it will be next week and the week after that. And none of those match-23s will be the same. And, no one even bats an eyelid when a new captain is announced.
Winning regularly, including two World Cups, has helped Erasmus gain the public's trust, and he can pick just about any team he wants now and rugby fans will believe in it and back it. The Boks could simply not be in a more healthy state.
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The Herald
3 hours ago
- The Herald
Willemse ready to strut his stuff at Loftus
Dynamic fullback Damian Willemse is champing at the bit to get his first touch of the ball and strut his stuff for the Springboks when they open their Test season against Italy at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. Willemse wants to put months of frustration behind him when SA bid to make a winning start to a double header against a fired-up Azzurri outfit over the next two weekends in Tshwane and Gqeberha. Willemse is making his return to the Bok side for the first time since the 2023 World Cup final, having missed out on an entire international season because of injury. 'It has been a difficult year,' he said. 'After two years with injury, and then obviously with the suspension keeping me out and stopping me from playing rugby. 'But I am very happy to get another shot and for the coaches to believe in me and to get my opportunity again to play. I'm looking forward to it and I'm excited. 'I'm a bit nervous, obviously. I haven't played, and the last game I played was in the World Cup final. 'I'll have to obviously get in and just do my primary job, and hopefully the rest of the boys will take care of me and look after me. 'There are a lot of guys in the team, the coaching staff and the months of preparation that we had that give me a lot of security. 'I think as soon as I get out onto the field and have a first touch of the ball and sing the national anthem, I'll probably get into it and forget about the nerves and settle a little bit. 'You never forget you are playing for the Springboks and the national team, so it does come with a little bit of added pressure. 'Still, it is something I'm looking forward to as well. 'I know I've got great outside backs and experienced guys in the team that will look after me.' Commenting on what he expected against Italy, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus said: 'Italy are a quality team with a strong pack and quality backs, and their passion for the team and their country is incredible, so we expect them to throw everything at us.' Bok flyhalf Handré Pollard, who returned to SA after stints playing club rugby in France and England, spoke equally highly of Italy. 'This is a good Italian team, and we are not underestimating them, especially with the passion and physicality they play with,' he said. 'They also have a lot of threats, and they are a side that are clearly evolving if one looks at their results in the last few years against some of the top teams, so it will be important to stop them and to front up physically. 'Over and above that, we have set high standards for ourselves, and we want to implement that at Test level.' The teams: SA: 15 Damian Willemse; 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel (capt), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse; 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Morne van den Berg; 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. R eplacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Willie le Roux. Italy squad: Forwards: Pietro Ceccarelli, Simone Ferrari, Danilo Fischetti, Muhamed Hasa, Mirco Spagnolo, Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Pablo Dimcheff, Giacomo Nicotera, Matteo Canali, Niccolò Cannone, Riccardo Favretto, Andrea Zambonin, Lorenzo Cannone, Alessandro Izekor, Sebastian Negri, David Odiase, Ross Vintcent, Manuel Zuliani. Backs: Alessandro Fusco, Alessandro Garbisi, Stephen Varney, Giacomo Da Re, Giovanni Montemauri, Giulio Bertaccini, Damiano Mazza, Tommaso Menoncello, Marco Zanon, Mirko Belloni , Simone Gesi, Louis Lynach, Paolo Odogwu, Jacopo Trulla. The Herald
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3 hours ago
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Damian Willemse ready to strut his stuff for Boks against Italy at Loftus
Dynamic fullback Damian Willemse is champing at the bit to get his first touch of the ball and strut his stuff for the Springboks when they open their Test season against Italy at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. Willemse wants to put months of frustration behind him when South Africa bid to make a winning start to a double header against a fired-up Azzurri outfit over the next two weekends in Tshwane and Gqeberha. Willemse is making his return to the Bok side for the first time since the 2023 World Cup final, having missed out on an entire international season because of injury. 'It has been a difficult year,' he said. 'After two years with injury, and then obviously with the suspension keeping me out and stopping me from playing rugby. 'But I am very happy to get another shot and for the coaches to believe in me and to get my opportunity again to play. I'm looking forward to it and I'm excited. 'I'm a bit nervous, obviously. The last game I played was the World Cup final. I'll have to obviously get in and just do my primary job, and hopefully the rest of the boys will take care of me and look after me.
The Citizen
4 hours ago
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Springboks open Test season against Italy: Stats, facts and figures
The current world champions have enjoyed a dominant time against the Italians since their first meeting in 1995. The Springbok players chat during their captain's run at Artemio Franchi on November 18, 2016 in Florence, Italy, prior to their Test match against Italy the following day. Picture:The Springboks get their Test year under way with the first of two Tests against Italy at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday, with kick-off at 5.10pm. Rassie Erasmus' team are the big favourites to win the match, having dominated against the Italians over the years. Here are some of the key statistics, facts and figures you might not know about the teams and clashes between them. History The Boks and Italy have met 16 times, with the South Africans enjoying a 15-1 record against the Italians. The first meeting between the teams took place on 12 November 1995 in Rome, when the Boks, then also newly crowned world champions, won 40-21. The Boks have scored 764 points in total in these 16 meetings, while Italy have scored 195. The Boks have scored 102 tries to Italy's 16. The biggest winning score is 101-0 to the Boks, recorded in Durban in June 1999. Italy's only triumph The Italians have beaten the current world champions only once, in Florence on 19 November 2016. On that day Italy won 20-18 to shock the rugby world. The Boks' tries were scored by Bryan Habana, in his 124th Test, and Damian de Allende, with Pat Lambie kicking a conversion and a penalty, while Elton Jantjies also slotted a penalty. Coach Allister Coetzee's Bok team on the day included Willie le Roux at fullback, Damian de Allende at inside centre, Rudy Paige at scrumhalf, Warren Whiteley at eighthman, Lood de Jager at No 5 lock, Pieter-Steph du Toit at number 4 lock, Vincent Koch at tighthead and Adriaan Strauss at hooker, and the captain. Matches in South Africa The Boks have played Italy seven times in South Africa, but this will be the first Test between the sides at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, where the hosts have a 78% win record overall (32 wins from 41 Tests). In those seven matches the Boks have registered a number of big wins. Besides the 101-0 in Durban in 1999, the Boks won 74-3 in Port Elizabeth, the week before the Durban massacre in 1999, 60-14 in Port Elizabeth in 2001, 26-0 in Cape Town in 2008, 29-13 in Witbank in 2010, 55-11 in East London in 2010, and 44-10 in Durban in 2013. Milestones The Boks will have 732 Test caps in total in the starting team on Saturday, with a further 466 on the bench. Vincent Tshituka, of the Sharks and formerly the Lions, will make his debut in the No 7 jersey. Fullback Damian Willemse will play his first Test since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final in Paris, after sitting out all of last season with an injury. His back-up on the bench, Willie le Roux, should he enter the action, will earn his 99th Test cap. Jesse Kriel will become the Boks' 67th Test captain, while Eben Etzebeth will extend his record number of Test caps to 132 on Saturday..
