Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus believes his new-look loose trio has the right balance of height, carrying ability and breakdown expertise to cope with the Wallabies in Perth on Sunday.
With Elrigh Louw providing the height at blindside flank, Erasmus explained that the Springboks do not necessarily need a conventional No 8, but rather a loose trio that can fulfil different roles across the lineout, attack, defence and breakdown.
The head coach rolled the dice for the duel at Optus Stadium in Perth (kick-off 11.45am as he looks to give more playing minutes to his fringe players. The Boks made 13 changes to the starting lineup for the clash from the previous Test in Baltimore, with versatile loose forward Marco van Staden manning the back of the scrum.
“I know you guys probably get a bit frustrated with me, but you only scrum at No 8,” Erasmus said, about the role of the eighthman.
“In our coaching opinion, you must have one tall loose forward. Now, if that tall loose forward is Elrigh Louw, and the other two are shorter guys, and one plays to the ground and the other one is a good carrier, that’s how we look at it,” Erasmus added.
“So, for us, there’s not a specific role for the No 8 player apart from scrumming there. In the line-outs, the taller loose forward jumps or contests, and you seldom get that there are two (loose forward) line-out jumpers there.
“Physically, can he [the No. 8] do the job for Daan [Human, scrum coach] at scrum time? Apart from that, the guy has, in our opinion – I’m not saying we’re right – a different role on attack, defence, the kicking game and at the breakdown.”
Erasmus says they have a couple of strong players who will take the contest to Australia at ruck time.
Hooker Johan Grobbelaar, loosehead Jan-Hendrik Wessels, tighthead Zachary Porthen, No 6 Paul de Villiers, Van Staden and Louw will all be vital in securing the Springboks’ possession, but also in spoiling the quick ball of the Wallabies. They all love to stick their heads in at the tackle area to try and win possession.
Wessels could shift to hooker in the second half when replacement loosehead Ox Nché takes the field, while Erasmus also hinted that they could play Malcolm Marx at flanker to see how he fares on the side of the scrum.
“The breakdowns will be a big contest. I think Marco will have a massive impact there as well. Fraser McReight and the guys in their team are certainly guys who can disrupt the defensive breakdown. They’re really good at that, and hopefully Marco can help sort that out for us.
“Jan-Hendrik and Grobbies have played against Australia, so they will know what awaits. Grobbies has been solid and we felt after Deon (Fourie) played well for the Stormers against the All Blacks, that his experience, leadership and knowledge would be crucial in the series. He played three in a row at 39-years old and did well.
“Grobbies deserves a chance now.” | IOL Sport
Australia v South Africa matchday 23s
Wallabies starting XV: Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Len Ikitau, Hunter Paisami, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii; Ben Donaldson, Ryan Lonergan; Harry Wilson (capt), Fraser McReight, Rob Valetini; Jeremy Williams, Josh Canham; Allan Alaalatoa, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell; Replacements: Billy Pollard, Aidan Ross, Taniela Tupou, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Tom Hooper, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Harry Potter
Springboks starting XV: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 André Esterhuizen (c), 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marco van Staden, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels; Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nché, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Morné van den Berg, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Quan Horn