Breaking down Rassie's 10 best options for the 'Bok Backrow'
One thing the Springboks have never been short of is quality loose forwards, think Andre Venter, Schalk Burger, Gary Teichmann or even newly appointed Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus to name a few.
The list is endless and there is a continuous conveyor belt of quality flankers and No 8’s to select from. The new Springbok coaching team has plenty of options available to them but the combination of the loose trio is usually more important than specific individuals.
The uncertainty around the makeup of the loose trio is even more complex with three potential front-runners in the mix for the captaincy in Warren Whiteley, Siya Kolisi and Duane Vermeulen.
Here we look at some of the choices for the year ahead and leading into Japan 2019.
Warren Whiteley was Allister Coetzee’s captain and it is no secret that the men in Green and Gold missed his leadership in a poor 2017. The Lions’ No 8 is extremely mobile and not your traditional South African eighthman. The Glenwood old boy has extremely good linking skills and his balls skills alongside his elusive running makes him an extremely good all-round package for the loose trio. There are questions being raised around his injuries and his continuous playing schedule in Japan and South Africa needs to be managed.
The Thor-like Duane Vermeulen is a bruising ball carrier that continually gets over the advantage line. The 31-year-old has a thunderous tackle and is extremely effective in the tight loose. A major concern is the fact that his future still seems to be uncertain as to where he will base himself. He is perfectly suited for the northern hemisphere where it is all about inches. The hard fields of the southern hemisphere haven’t been a familiar place of late for the Toulon loose forward and one feels he will have to get down south to add to his tally of test caps. An extremely good blindside option.
Siya Kolisi had an incredible 2017 and firmly put himself on the map from an international point of view. The Stormers’ captain was only second best to Malcolm Marx as SA Rugby Player of the Year. Kolisi is an extremely talented ball carrier and mobile loose forward who adds a massive amount when the game loosens up. At 1.88 metres and 105 kilograms he is not big enough for the blindside when compared to the likes of Jerome Kaino and Scott Fardy, he is also not an out and out openside flanker. Eddie Jones referred to Chris Robshaw as a six-and-a-half and the same could be said of Kolisi who offers plenty to the loose trio.
Franco Mostert is a definite dark horse among the names mentioned but is a player that will add immense value to a Springbok pack. He has a massive engine and gets through a truckload of work in the loose. The former Tukkies stalwart is a fantastic lineout option and his athleticism is second to none. Mostert will need to gain some experience on the side of the scrum if the 27-year-old is to be considered, however he could potentially be an extremely exciting choice with all the second-row options available.
Roelof Smit could be the bolter among this group. The Bulls openside flanker gets through an enormous amount of work in the loose and creates havoc at ruck time, slowing down opposition ball and turning over possession regularly. Smit has unfortunately had a string of injuries and needs a run of games to be considered, he is definitely an outsider but has plenty to offer the Boks if they are looking for something different.
Francois Louw has been a consistent performer in the Green and Gold and doesn’t always get the credit he deserves. The opensider who plies his trade in Bath is a menace at the breakdown and makes a massive amount of tackles for both club and country. He is rated as one of the best in Europe, which speaks volumes taking in to account the quality of scavengers up north. The former Western Province loose forward is dependable and still has plenty to offer the Springboks.
The loose forwards stock is bursting at the seams with quality players, particularly when you still have Pieter Steph Du Toit, Nizaam Carr, Cobus Wiese and the Du Preez twins also in contention. The challenge for Erasmus remains to get the combination right.
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t enjoy drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments