Boks tour: Five players who’ll want to finish Rugby Champs on a high

The Springboks are in action in their final Rugby Championship Test this season against the All Blacks in the Gold Coast on Saturday.

It’s been a disappointing showing on tour and some individuals have also failed to properly fire.

Here we take a look at five players who’ll want to finish the competition on a high.

Faf de Klerk

The much maligned Springbok scrumhalf has been heavily criticised for his incessant kicking game, which many supporters and a number of pundits have found nonsensical a lot of the time.

However, as with many complaints, there are a lot less when the game plan works and the Boks are winning. But Down Under it has not worked so far, with De Klerk’s out of hand kicking not as on target as he would have liked, while he has not been able to get the Springbok backline going on the front foot.

De Klerk will thus be hoping his kicking game is on the money on Saturday and he will be keen to put in a rousing final performance to round off the Rugby Championship.

Handre Pollard

Much like his halfback partner Faf de Klerk, Springbok flyhalf Pollard’s kicking game has come under heavy fire from supporters and pundits alike.

His goal kicking has left much to be desired, with an off night with the boot contributing to the first loss against the Wallabies and a conversion miss that he would usually nail nine times out of 10, costing a possible draw against the All Blacks.

Pollard also seems to have lost interest in taking the ball to the gain line and getting into contact situations, which was key in getting the Boks over the gain line during their 2019 World Cup winning campaign.

He will hope for a much better performance with the boot against the All Blacks in the final Test and will hopefully be targeting getting the Bok backline on the front foot with some direct running.

Lukhanyo Am

Bok centre Am is currently regarded as one of the best 13s in world rugby, but has had a fairly forgettable Rugby Championship Down Under. After his ridiculous steal off Argentinean wing Santiago Carreras at the end of the second Test in Gqeberha, Am would have been heading to Australia on a high.

However his form has taken a bit of a dip, which has included him making a number of uncharacteristic mistakes over the three matches. He botched a certain try against the Wallabies from a Faf de Klerk grubber, and has made a number of handling errors that have cost the Boks good momentum.

Am has been brilliant so far for the Boks in his fledgling international career and was always bound to have a dip in form at some stage, but he will be eager to remind people of his pedigree in the final Test.

Willie le Roux

Willie le Roux, much like Handre Pollard and Faf de Klerk, has seen his heavily kick influence game derided. Le Roux has over the past few years, including during the Boks’ World Cup winning campaign, been the team’s rock at the back, final line of defence and important cog in clearing their line when under attack.

However he has been found wanting during this year’s Rugby Championship, with some shaky out of hand kicking and a frailty on defence that is rarely seen.

Le Roux has also struggled to get the Bok backline firing, with his joining the line and timely runs usually important in getting them over the gain line, but this has unfortunately not been seen much during the Rugby Championship.

Jasper Wiese

Wiese is seen by many as the long term replacement to Bok number eight Duane Vermeulen, but has had an underwhelming start to his Bok career. With many of the characteristics of the herculean Vermeulen, many see Wiese as a like for like replacement, however bar a superb man of the match performance against Argentina in Gqeberha, he has not performed as many would have liked.

Wiese has been shaky under the high ball, has knocked on a number of times and his indiscipline is a big worry for the Boks as he gives away crucial penalties towards the end of a game. His yellow card in the second match loss against the Wallabies saw him miss out on last week’s All Blacks match, with many believing he was left out of the team as punishment, although Bok coach Jacques Nienaber claimed it was due to his citing hearing having not been completed at the time of the team announcement.

Wiese will be looking to prove that he is a possible replacement for the ageing Vermeulen and a barnstorming performance off the bench against the All Blacks will go a long way to prove that.