The great strength that makes the Springboks the envy of the world

Let’s start with the players who are absent. Siya Kolisi, the most inspirational leader in world rugby and one of the most dynamic loose forwards from broken play. Handre Pollard, a World Cup winning fly-half who returned from injury and steered Leicester Tigers from eighth to third in the Premiership within three weeks. Kurt-Lee Arendse who now has ten tries from eight Tests. Evan Roos, the URC’s inaugural player of the season. Robert du Preez, the forgotten fly-half who ran the show as Sale Sharks kept pace with champions Saracens. Ivan van Zyl, the forgotten scrum-half who was recognised by his Saracens peers as the club’s best player across their successful campaign. Raymond Rhule and Dillyn Leyds, two forgotten wingers each with a pair of European Cup winners’ medals. Trevor Nyakane, Jesse Kriel, Marvin Orie, Jean-Luc du Preez, Jean Kleyn, Jaden Hendrikse, Ox Nche, Deon Fourie, Canan Moodie, Elton Jantjies, Hersschel Jantjies …. You get the idea.

You might scoff at some of the names mentioned above. You might think the Springboks are better off without them. But Jacques Nienaber and his coaching staff would present a strong rebuttal. Most of these men have been tested by this current regime and those who haven’t wouldn’t be out of place in a squad bursting with talent.

This is what is meant when fans and journalists wax lyrical about the Springboks’ depth. They’re a team that is fuelled by its own self aggrandising image, by an inflated sense of purpose and by perceived slights and grudges that serve as grist to their endlessly grinding mill. But where hardened muscles collide in the close quarters of a Test match, pragmatic reasons lie at the heart of what makes this team a force to be reckoned with.

Let’s now focus on the bench named for the Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks this Saturday. As the South African journalist Dylan Jack noted on Twitter, this isn’t a Bomb Squad, this is a ‘Nuke Squad’. Drop those eight players in tracksuits on a city from a B-29 and see what happens. Instead they will enter the scene in Auckland with fresh legs and a point to prove.

Malcolm Marx is arguably the best hooker in the world. Vincent Koch is certainly in the running for best prop in the world. Pieter-Steph du Toit was World Rugby’s player of the year not long ago. Duane Vermeulen’s moniker is Thor. Hyperbole aside, it’s worth asking if any other international team could unfurl such a monstrous weapon once their starters have emptied the tank. Could the British & Irish Lions – a composite team of four of the top nine countries – name a bench the equal of the Boks’?

None of this has happened by chance. South African school and university rugby remain productive talent factories and, despite the laser focus on the four wealthy franchises that represent the country in the URC and Europe, the Currie Cup still has a beating heart. The previous two winners – the Pumas and Cheetahs – are excluded from the elite table. So too are Griquas who lost at the last hurdle in 2022. This is proof that the game is healthy below the apex of the pyramid.

Rassie Erasmus’ decision to incorporate foreign based talent into the fold back in 2018 has also bolstered South Africa’s depth. For the past five years, the location of a Springbok hasn’t been a barrier to their inclusion. If they’re good enough they’re in. Not only has this deepened the player pool but also sharpened the minds and bodies of those already in the mix.

It is interesting to note that seven of the players in the recently named match-day 23 also featured in Allister Coetzee’s last game in charge in 2017. Eben Etzebeth reprises his part as captain and Lood de Jager’s second row partner. Steven Kitshhoff starts again but this time Marx and Bongi Mbonambi switch roles with the latter wearing 2 on his back this time round. Lukhanyo Am and du Toit also featured, as did Kolisi, Pollard and Kriel.

The point is the evolution of the individuals from the Coetzee years has often been overstated. Erasmus did not make wholesale changes and Nienaber has largely kept intact a cohort that has been developing for some time. This is obviously a happy camp with a cohesive core at its centre. Apart from Roos (23), Hendrikse (23) and Moodie (20), every other member of the 41-man squad for the Rugby Championship is over the age of 25. Fifteen players have more than 50 caps. Three – Vermeulen, Etzebeth and le Roux – have been playing for the Springboks for more than a decade.

Continuity breeds success. The 2015 All Blacks were a better side than the one that lifted the 2011 World Cup. Four more years together had hardened any soft edges that existed. When Richie McCaw lifted the Webb Ellis Cup for the second time, he did so at the helm of the greatest team the world had ever seen.

The Springboks aren’t there yet. Even if they defend their title in France they won’t eclipse Steve Hansen’s All Blacks. But Nienaber has a golden chance to at least replicate their feat of back-to-back triumphs. This is a team peaking at the right time. Their demolition of Australia showed that they’re part of a select few considerably clear of the chasing pack. They should have beaten France last Autumn and ran Ireland close on their own patch. A different bounce of the ball and they could have won both encounters.

Saturday will be revealing. The All Blacks will be buoyed by a thumping win of their own over Argentina and will be desperate to prove that they deserve their higher place on World Rugby’s rankings. Both camps will have an eye on the World Cup but a victory at the Mount Smart Stadium will not only secure the truncated Championship but also serve as a springboard for a tilt at the main prize in two months. But even if the Springboks lose, they can take solace in the fact there are more than capable recruits in reserve.