Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

The 3 rookies who must start for the Springboks from now on

By Josh Raisey
Aphelele Fassi of South Africa celebrates after scoring a try with teammates during the the Rugby Championship 2024 match between Argentina Pumas and South Africa Springboks at Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades on September 21, 2024 in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. (Photo by Rodrigo Valle/Getty Images)

In a year that has been dubbed a “rebirth” for South Africa, head coach Rassie Erasmus has not been afraid of some experimentation.

ADVERTISEMENT

The world champions have welcomed a new coaching set-up, a new style and have seen plenty of new faces join the fold so far in their ten matches in 2024.

Indeed, Erasmus himself even pointed this out on X after securing The Rugby Championship title on Saturday with a 48-7 victory over Argentina, saying they will “benefit in the long run” from using 49 players this year.

Video Spacer

Does Manie Libbok’s form complicate things? | RPTV

The Boks Office crew discuss how Manie Libbok bounced back at Mbombela. Watch the full show on RugbyPass TV now

Watch now

Video Spacer

Does Manie Libbok’s form complicate things? | RPTV

The Boks Office crew discuss how Manie Libbok bounced back at Mbombela. Watch the full show on RugbyPass TV now

Watch now

Some players have taken their chance this year, some have not, but the Boks Office team have listed the three players that have to play for the Springboks from now on after breakout seasons.

Host Hanyani Shimange opened with lock Ruan Nortje, who has returned to the Springboks squad this season after winning a solitary cap in 2022.

There is no denying that the 26-year-old has been the beneficiary of an extensive injury list in the second-row department, but he still needed to take his chance, which Shimange believes he did.

“For me it’s Ruan Nortje [who commands a starting position]. “He slotted in seamlessly, his work rate, controls the lineout. Obviously there are guys that are injured that will come back in the mix.

ADVERTISEMENT

“For me, what he has shown now, he’s slotted in now, you want that hard-working guy, he’s got the good skills with the ball, maybe not the most abrasive carrier – that’s probably the work-on – but for a guy that’s come in, he’s slotted in brilliantly.”

Jean de Villiers added two players to the list, fullback Aphelele Fassi and fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, although the latter has been ruled out for the rest of the year with a knee injury.

Like Nortje, Fassi was brought in from the cold this year after missing the 2023 World Cup, and has enjoyed a “rebirth”.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu, conversely, is the only one to have made his debut in 2024, coming off the bench in the Boks’ 41-13 victory over Wales at Twickenham and made huge strides on the Test scene during The Rugby Championship before his knee injury ended his season.

ADVERTISEMENT

“It’s difficult not to select [Fassi] now,” de Villiers said. “But there’s tough competition there with Willie [le Roux] and Damian [Willemse] coming back.

“Sacha is part of the conversation at fly-half.

“I think we’re in a situation now where you can pick and choose depending on the game and who you’re playing against. So conditions, who you are playing against, what does your pack look like etc. and then you select accordingly. With Fassi that’s the case, with Sacha that’s the case as well.”

Boks Office guest Deon Fourie said that wingers Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse cannot be overlooked despite a host of players nipping at their heels.

De Villiers replied: “You’ve still got Edwill [van der Merwe], you’ve still got [Makazole] Mapimpi who played so well every time he got the opportunity this year, you’ve still got Canan Moodie, you’ve got Kurt-Lee and Cheslin, Fassi can slot in on the wing as well, so the depth that we have is just next level.”

Related

Watch the highly acclaimed five-part documentary Chasing the Sun 2, chronicling the journey of the Springboks as they strive to successfully defend the Rugby World Cup, free on RugbyPass TV (*unavailable in Africa)

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

3 Comments
S
SteveD 3 days ago

Nortje seems to have learnt the lineout calls, so that's good.


Sacha has learnt to maybe be a bit more humble rather than thinking he was so special he should play while injured and potentially let the team down, so that's good.


Fassi still needs to realise in the more difficult games that while he's done very well up to then there comes a point (twice in recent games, although the last one wasn't probably so important) where it's better not to do stupid touch kicks that put the team at risk. It'll be good when he learns that.

f
fl 5 days ago

hard to disagree with these three.

S
SM 5 days ago

Having a full time SA A team will solve a lot of issues

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

TRENDING
TRENDING Michael Cheika ban: RFU publish 12-page disciplinary hearing verdict Michael Cheika ban: RFU publish 12-page disciplinary hearing verdict
Search