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What the All Blacks make of Springboks line-up changes
Both the All Blacks and Springboks have rotated their line-ups for this weekend’s rematch at Ellis Park following a sizeable 26-10 victory for the Springboks in Mbombela last weekend.
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The All Blacks have swapped in two fresh props while also bringing Shannon Frizell and Richie Mo’unga into the mix, whereas South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber has opted to shift Malcolm Marx to the bench, reintroduced Duane Vermeulen and brought in the experienced Jesse Kriel on the right wing for the suspended Kurt-Lee Arendse.
While Bongi Mbonambi was originally named in the Springboks No 2 jersey for Saturday, a training ground injury has seen Joseph Dweba take Mbonambi’s spot in the starting line-up with Marx – who caused the All Black countless issues at the breakdown last week – remaining on the bench.
Although Marx has become somewhat of a bench specialist in recent seasons, the fact that he was so instrumental in the Springboks’ win at Mbombela Stadium gave many reason to believe that he would be retained in the starting line-up.
But was All Blacks head coach Ian Foster caught out by the change?
“Not really,” he told media on Thursday after naming his team for the rematch. “It’s where he’s always been played the last couple of years. They promoted him for his 50th (Test appearance) so back to the normal formula.”
Similarly, Foster wasn’t surprised to see 36-year-old Vermeulen – who has yet to take the field for the Springboks this year due to thumb and knee injuries – back in the 23.
“It’s a bit like Malcolm Marx going to the bench – it’s back to their formula, isn’t it?” Foster said. “He’s a quality player and I’m sure the intentions always were to get him back in there. They’ve got a great one-two punch with their number 8s so whichever way round, it was going to be a challenge.
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“We’ve got great respect for Duane, he’s a great rugby player and so again, I just think it’s a formula that they know and trust and it’s up to us to deal with it.”
With Mbonambi out of action, Dweba will make just his third Test start when he runs out in the No 2 jersey this weekend. 69-cap All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor, who has been named on the bench for the Ellis Park fixture after sitting out last Saturday’s defeat, said that even without Mbonambi, New Zealand would face a sizeable challenge bringing the starting Springboks rake to the ground.
“He’s a solid bugger, isn’t he?” Taylor said of the dynamic Dweba. “I’ve sort of seen from afar the explosive man he is. He’s obviously a big unit. Pretty impressed with the way he goes about things on the field.
“I know he’ll be looking forward to this opportunity himself and getting to run out there. I had a talk to him a couple of weeks ago around him hopefully getting a crack so it’s good to see that he is.”
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Saturday’s clash will kick off at 5:05pm SAST.
Comments on RugbyPass
In the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
5 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
6 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
5 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
6 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
6 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to comments