Elton will be sharper, Duane ready to go, insists Bok boss Nienaber

Three of the Springboks’ most senior players, Duane Vermeulen, Frans Steyn and Elton Jantjies are set to get some vitally important game time under their belts in their Rugby Championship match-up against Australia in Adelaide on Saturday.

Vermeulen and Steyn have both recently returned from injuries, while Jantjies has played barely any rugby this year and, as back-up to first choice flyhalf Handre Pollard, is in desperate need of some time on the field.

ALSO READ: Why Nienaber ditched the Bok ‘bomb squad’ for first Wallabies Test

Jantjies suffered a major injury back in January, and only made his return to training with the Boks just before the international season kicked off.

This led to Jantjies being thrown in the deep end in the Boks’ first Test of the season against Wales, which led to a disastrous 40 minute showing that saw him subbed at halftime, and remains his only minutes played to date.

“In terms of Elton’s form, as well as the other players like Duane and Frans, the only place where we can see them is in training sessions and we really push the training sessions to be as hard as a game, or as close to match intensity as possible,” explained coach Jacques Nienaber.

“Elton has been performing really well in training so I expect him to be a lot sharper against Australia.”

ALSO READ: Springbok boss excited to see Gelant, Willemse ‘chemistry’ against Wallabies

Vermeulen also struggled on his return to the team, putting in an underwhelming showing against the All Blacks at Ellis Park, with him subbed after 36 minutes, while this will be Steyn’s first international of the season and first game since being injured in the Currie Cup in May.

“We are happy where Frans (fitness) is currently at. Obviously not having game time is unfortunate but that’s where we are currently having the Rugby Championship during the club rugby off season,” said Nienaber.

“There is no club rugby currently where we can let our players play and see where they are at, we can only see them in training sessions. But we wouldn’t select these guys if we didn’t think they were up to standard.

“So we are also expecting to get more minutes out of Duane this weekend. He has been training well and we are looking forward to seeing him on the park again.

“We all know what quality he has and what experience he brings to the team. So he has had a good week and he is ready to go.”