Test week has finally arrived for the Springboks, with Rachid Erasmus beginning his second spell as head coach when he takes on Warren Gatland’s Wales at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The Bulls beat former Bok manager Jack Nienaber’s Leinster side in the semi-final on their way to United Rugby Championship glory and Erasmus will have been closely watching the action in Pretoria.
South Africa leave for England this week for their first Test match of 2024, but before the international break, Boccometer takes a fresh look at players who have impressed Erasmus and his coaching staff in club action this week as the injury list continues to swell.
Daan Humans have choices!
Springbok scrum guru Daan Human will have been salivating as he analysed the Bulls’ scrum performance against an Irish side on Saturday afternoon.
Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Rowe all thoroughly outplayed Tadhg Furlong, Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter respectively in the set-piece battle as the Bulls powerfully demonstrated one of their traditional strengths.
The Leinster front row will swap their blue jerseys for green (or the alternative kit Ireland have in store for their tour of South Africa) for the two Test matches in July, giving the Bulls’ Bok prospects a golden opportunity to perform well and they have done so in style!
The Irish pack were forced into reverse gear from the first scrum, Roux melting Porter and the Leinster pack being saved by some great play from Jamison Gibson-Park. At the second scrum, Ireland were rather lucky to avoid punishment as Furlong fell to the ground on his stomach when the Bulls had been told to use it. At the third scrum, Ireland were again lucky to avoid punishment as Porter lunged diagonally. The game was a mess from start to finish, with the Bulls dominating the match with ease. Perhaps the greatest example of their dominance was an old-fashioned tighthead to head scrum in the 52nd minute, when Cameron Hanekom lunged down the blindside after a turnover.
Roux has been a game-changing signing for the Bulls this season and his performances will no doubt see him back in the squad despite incredible tighthead depth including two-time World Cup winner Trevor Nyakane, Frans Malherbe and Vincent Koch, as well as uncapped Stormers star Neethling Fouché and Bath’s Thomas du Toit, with Bordeaux-based Karl Sadie still out for 2024.
Meanwhile, Erasmus spoke highly of Steenekamp last week and suggested he could be recalled to the squad at the end of the Bulls’ domestic season.
Grobbelaar was spotted with an ice pack on his ankle following the win over Leinster and played just 40 minutes before being replaced by Acker van der Merwe, which will be a concern for the Bulls, but both players have performed well and it should not damage their hopes of a call-up.
Luan Norche
Bulls retainer, lock Ruan Nortje, is also facing selection again after being named by Erasmus this week.
The energetic Bulls captain produced another incredible game with an incredible work rate from the first minute to the 80th minute, once again demonstrating why he is being compared to two-time World Cup winner Franco Mostert.
He ran the lineout brilliantly and charged into the ruck both defensively and offensively, recording 12 tackles and one turnover. Nortje has been really impressive all season despite injury setbacks and will no doubt see another Bok cap in the near future.
Cameron Hanekom
He was named man of the match against an All-Ireland pack, an award that was well-deserved as Hanekom was clearly the best player at Loftus Versveld on Saturday.
The 22-year-old continues to perform well beyond his years – playing arguably his best game to date against Leinster – and suggests he may already be ready for the step up to international rugby.
His stats for the game shed some light on his performance – he made more tackles (18), clean breaks (3), ran (81), turned overs (2) and beat defenders (6) than any other player in the game, while also leading the Bulls in carries (10) and clean breaks (3) and tying the game-high for offloads (2) – but this is only a small part of what was truly a sensational performance.
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Erlig Low
Another Bulls back-row player who rose to the challenge of fielding roughly the same line-up that manager Andy Farrell will select for the two Test matches in July was Erlig Lu, who performed sensationally in tandem with Hanekom and Marco van Staden.
Roux is renowned for his relentless work rate and uncompromising approach to the physical parts of the game and he once again delivered on both criteria, hard-hitting the Leinster players on both sides of the ball.
His stats include 13 tackles, nine carries and running more than 60 metres with the ball in hand, and while Pieter-Steph du Toit will be gunning for the Springbok number seven jumper shirt, there is expected to be stiff competition from the Bulls rookie for the number eight jersey.
Cobbs-Reinach
Scrum-half is another position where the Springboks have plenty of options and Kobus Reinak put in another solid shift in a crucial game this weekend.
With relegation at risk, Montpellier needed to beat Grenoble to stay in the Top 14 next season and Reinack helped ensure that victory. The agile No.9 only played 45 minutes but put in an action-packed performance that included 45 metres of running, one turnover and four tackles.
Johan Goossen
There has been much talk surrounding the Springbok number 10 jumper this season, with Handre Pollard set to be the go-to starter, but there are also strong candidates to deputise for him.
Erasmus will no doubt be keen to explore those options, having named the likes of Manie Ribok, Siya Masuku, Jordan Hendrikse and Sascha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in his first official squad this year.
Nevertheless, Johan Goosen remains a great option for the Boks and could reignite his Test career after another excellent season that went largely unnoticed. He was superb against Leinster, dominating his opponents with ease and linking up perfectly with Willie le Roux to produce a brilliant tactical masterclass against the Irish province.
He kicked accurately off the tee and his powerful kicking contributed greatly to the Bulls winning more games than they lost, he also scored a vital try in the match and although the Boks cannot select the number 10, Goose should not be forgotten.
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David Curiel
At the risk of listing literally the entire Bulls starting line-up, it would be remiss not to mention the excellent David Kriel, whose excellent form continued in the semi-final.
Kriel was tasked with tackling centres Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw and kept them both quiet for considerable periods. Ringrose, playing his first game back from injury, landed a heavy hit on Hanekom but was unable to make an impact from there as the Bulls centre surged forward and thwarted almost every Leinster attacking threat.
It wasn’t the show-stopping performance one would expect from the Bulls utility back, but it was a mature performance that showed he’s trending in the right direction.
Willy Le Roux
Form is temporary, Le Roux is permanent. Some were saying he had “put his age back” and that he “looked five years younger” against Leinster on Saturday afternoon, but frankly, he has been performing like this for quite some time now.
Leroux executed the Bulls’ attacking plan well, putting Nienaber’s defence under immense pressure and was central to the Bulls’ efforts during his 50-odd minutes on the pitch before being sent off for a nasty shot.
Erasmus suggested Le Roux could start this week against Wales if the Bulls fail to beat Leinster and that the veteran Bok would likely have been available for the Springboks had he not been on the pitch for more than 50 minutes.
Dilynn Reyes
With a bit of a winger crisis in the Springbok line-up, Erasmus may turn to La Rochelle star Dilyn Reyes, who helped his side to a 34-29 win over Toulon in the Top 14 barrage this weekend.
The former Stormers speedster contributed to the victory, scoring a try and quietly keeping Toulon’s Fijian powerhouse Setariki Tuikuvu in check throughout the match.
Rays is a versatile utility back who has performed at a consistently high level in La Rochelle, so could this be the year he finally finds his way back into the jumper in green and gold?
Siya Kolisi’s Top 14 season comes to an end
Two-time World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi will join up with South Korea’s national team next week after completing his debut Top 14 season this weekend.
The back-rower played a solid performance for the Parisian club in Racing 92’s Top 14 Barrage against Bordeaux, but the team lost 31-17 to Bordeaux.
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Increasing number of injured
The Springboks’ injury list continues to grow, with Ruud de Jager set to be sidelined for two months, according to reports.
It is another setback for the second-rower, who missed the 2023 Rugby World Cup due to health concerns.
He is set to miss the July international matches and Le Roux is also likely to miss the game after suffering a questionable neck injury against Leinster.
This comes after Erasmus announced an injury list last week which included Steven Kitshoff, de Jager, Canan Moody, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damien Willemse, Jan Klein, Henko van Wyk, Jayden Hendrikse and Jean-Luc du Preez.
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