Durban - When Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber addressed the media in mid-April, the subtext was that it will be more difficult to be dropped from the Bok squad that has done service since 2019 than it will be to break into it.
The reasoning he gave is that time is running out until the 2023 World Cup in France.
“We want older, experienced players who are good enough to win the World Cup and then we want some younger guys to push them but they must also have enough experience, at least 10 caps,” Nienaber said.
In my opinion, there are three players outside Nienaber’s close-knit group who can meet those requirements before France 2023 and must be involved against Wales, although in the case of one of them, factors outside pure ability on the field could count against him.
I’m talking about Warrick Gelant, Evan Roos and Marcell Coetzee, who have not so much knocked on Nienaber’s door but smashed it down with emphatic performances for the Stormers and Bulls respectively.
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The case for Gelant is the most straightforward as he was in Rassie Erasmus’s 2019 plans only to get seriously injured later. This year he made his comeback for the Stormers and he has been superb in igniting attack after attack for the Cape team.
At 27, he is playing even better rugby than he was before his injury; and unless tired Willie le Roux can pull off a renaissance of Leonardo da Vinci proportions, Gelant must come in. He can take the Bok game to a new level.
Roos? He has been dynamic week after week. He is just 22 and there is the exuberance of youth in his workrate, his explosive ball carrying and his savage tackling. More than anything, you can see he is thoroughly enjoying his rugby — it is infectious and it rubs off on his teammates.
Duane Vermeulen at 35 is the incumbent No 8 and he plays a different game to Roos. Not nearly as mobile, he is a brute force around the rucks and mauls. Nienaber has to bring Roos in ahead of Kwagga Smith and Jasper Wiese to push Vermeulen and indeed replace him should he get injured, which is very possible.
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There are 18 Tests for Roos to gain experience before the World Cup, so Nienaber needs to get cracking as soon as possible.
Coetzee’s “problem” is that he plays the same position as the Bok captain but if we look at the United Rugby Championship stats, it is Coetzee’s name that dominates.
Coetzee is fourth for most carries, first for most offloads, fifth in successful carries and is second in leading try scorers (10).
Siya Kolisi doesn’t feature in any of the statistics, but he is the reigning SA Player of the Year.
As the first black captain of the Boks, Kolisi is a massive unifying force and that cannot be undervalued. Kolisi is not bullet-proof and if he gets injured, Coetzee is the natural choice to take his place and captain the team as well.
In short, Coetzee needs to be included in Nienaber’s plans, but I have this sinking feeling he won’t.
@MikeGreenaway67