Will Bok flyhalf Manie Libbok get the nod to tour to Australia next month? Picture: Phill Magakoe / AFP
If the recent two Tests against Ireland was the appetiser, then the Rugby Championship starting early next month is the main course.
And with coach Rassie Erasmus set to name his 30-man squad for the first two Tests of that competition on Tuesday, there is plenty of excitement about who’ll tour Down Under from next week for the two Tests against the Wallabies — in Brisbane (August 10) and Perth (August 17).
The Boks “warmed up” for the Rugby Championship with four matches – a good win against Wales in London, a win and a loss against Ireland in Pretoria and Durban respectively, and a run-away victory against tier-two Portugal in Bloemfontein this last weekend.
Erasmus should be well pleased with how the world champions have performed so far this international season, though he would have liked a series win against the Irish, but a good foundation has been laid for the Tests ahead, against the Wallabies (in Australia), the All Blacks (in South Africa) and the Pumas (in Argentina and South Africa).
In the last few weeks, the Boks have tested a new game style, with Tony Brown and Jerry Flannery now on board as co-coaches, while Erasmus has given several new players in the national set-up an opportunity to show what they can do, which has grown the depth of the player pool.
All in all, the Boks are in a good place ahead of the squad heading to Australia.
The biggest “win” of the last four weeks has been the emergence of, and form shown by, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Ben-Jason Dixon, while Aphelele Fassi and Makazole Mapimpi have shown spark and Lukhanyo Am has also returned to action after a long injury layoff.
The further good news is that the formerly injured Steven Kitshoff is set to be back for the trip Down Under, while Pieter-Steph du Toit, who hurt himself in the second Irish Test, should also be good to go.
Malcolm Marx, who also picked up an injury in Durban, is also set to tour though he might only be available for the second Test against the Wallabies on August 17.
It doesn’t look like Damian Willemse (hand) will be ready to play just yet, while there is uncertainty around Willie le Roux’s concussion problems. Franco Mostert (broken leg) is set to be out for a while.
The positions in the Bok team that may still be of concern to Erasmus are hooker, eighthman and flyhalf.
With there being uncertainty about the fitness of Marx, Erasmus is sure to take an additional hooker to Australia, so Johan Grobbelaar is almost certain to get a chance in Brisbane and maybe also Perth, and with Jasper Wiese still out for two more Tests following his six-match ban, the door might be open for Dixon or Evan Roos to tour if Erasmus feels he needs to have a look at another No 8 option outside of Kwagga Smith.
And, at flyhalf, the question on everyone’s lips is, will there be place for Manie Libbok in the squad now that Feinberg-Mngomezulu has found a spot in the Bok set-up and is able to play 10, 12 and 15?
The tour party will be named on Tuesday.
Aphelele Fassi, Sacha-Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cheslin Kolbe, Makazole Mapimpi, Lukhanyo Am, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Handre Pollard, Manie Libbok, Faf de Klerk, Grant Williams, Cobus Reinach, Evan Roos, Kwagga Smith, Ben-Jason Dixon, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Marco van Staden, RG Snyman, Salmaan Moerat, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Vincent Koch, Ox Nche, Gerhard Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit, Bongi Mbonambi, Malcolm Marx, Johan Grobbelaar
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