Boks coach Jacques Nienaber has backed his forwards to do the job against the All Blacks. Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images
The Springboks revealed all their cards on Thursday morning by naming their most experienced starting XV in history while also betting on the 7-1 bench split for their Rugby World Cup final against the All Blacks at the Stade de France on Saturday night.
It is a risky call, but not a surprising one as SA rugby director of rugby Rassie Erasmus and head coach Jacques Nienaber have become known for their bold and innovative calls over the years.
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The management team have obviously put a premium on experience, with the starting side featuring an astounding 987 caps between them, eclipsing the previous record set in their semifinal win over England where they had 895 caps.
The bulk of those caps come from the return of halfback duo Faf de Klerk and Handre Pollard to the starting side in place of Cobus Reinach and Manie Libbok who started in the previous two knockout games against France and England.
In turn De Klerk and Pollard become the most capped nine-ten combination in Bok history, linking together for the 25th time, surpassing the 24 starts of Joost van der Westhuizen and Henry Honiball.
The Boks also boast 10 players in their starting line-up who started the 2019 final in Japan against England, with a further four players from that match 23 on the bench.
So Nienaber and Erasmus will be banking on that wealth of experience to come good in the final against the All Blacks.
The second major aim of the Bok management will be to once again smash the All Blacks up front, as they did in their record 35-7 win at Twickenham, where they first unleashed the 7-1 bench split of forwards to backs.
It is a high risk, high reward strategy, that could implode if the Boks were to suffer a couple of early backline injuries in the match, but could also come up trumps if they are able to effectively sub their entire forward pack early in the second half.
The Boks are currently one-one with the 7-1 split, having beaten the All Blacks, but gone down to Ireland using it, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out this time round.
It is also interesting to note that they have gone with Willie le Roux as their only backline replacement for the match, after Cobus Reinach was backed as the sole back replacement against the All Blacks and Ireland.
The versatility of the Bok backline, with a guy like Cheslin Kolbe able to slot into scrumhalf if needed, has given the management the leeway to put a guy like Le Roux on the bench, with his experience obviously playing a big part in that decision.
In the end it is set to be a clash of styles this weekend and whichever one comes out on top is likely to lift the Webb Ellis Cup at the end of the night.
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