Deon Fourie, flanked by props Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe, is now the Boks' back up hooker, behind Bongi Mbonambi. Picture: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
The big news in the Springbok set-up is obviously the call-up of Handre Pollard. And the fact the Boks now have only one experienced hooker at Test level in Bongi Mbonambi in their squad, with Deon Fourie having some experience at hooker and newbie Marco van Staden being the back-up.
The thing is, only the coaches will know what is best for the Boks as they’re the ones who work with the players daily and know the strengths and weaknesses of the guys.
Scrum coach Daan Human, as well as Jacques (Nienaber) and Rassie (Erasmus), would have discussed the needs of the team and made a call together on who to call up. It’s clear though they are happy with Deon and Marco fulfilling the hooker duties, and who are we to question them? They’re experienced men who know the players inside and out.
You’re never going to replace a Malcolm Marx, who’s so good in so many departments, but Deon and Marco have similar abilities; the big question being, how will they go in the scrums and will their lineout throwing be up to scratch when the pressure is on?
The good news is the Boks have such experienced and strong props that whoever plays at hooker doesn’t have to be as good as Malcolm, but will be good enough. Also, as we saw in the match against Romania on Sunday, most of the lineout throws will go to the front. It’s the safe option.
The only danger is, what if something were to happen to Bongi Mbonambi on the eve of a final against France or Ireland; would the replacement hookers be confident enough to throw a lineout ball to the back? We don’t know.
But, in getting Pollard in, the Boks now have even more options at the back. The reality is Pollard is a World Cup winner – he kicks well at goal, his defence is strong and he’s a really good distributer … he can play 10 and 12, and even 15.
Add Manie Libbok and Damian Willemse to the mix, and you can pick a number of different combinations.
Ok, regarding the game against Romania; it went exactly as we thought it would.
The forwards laid a great foundation, were dominant in all departments and not even the late withdrawal of Vincent Koch upset the team … that’s the beauty of this Bok squad, there’s so much depth and no weak points.
Cobus Reinach and Damian Willemse are the most attack-minded 9-10 combination you can put out and they delivered very nicely, setting the tone for the game. How well they played.
Kwagga Smith and Van Staden also played well in tandem and gave the Romanians nothing, and it was good to see Fourie and Van Staden get those minutes at hooker.
It was another good performance by thee Boks, one that would have delighted the coaches for many reasons, with the youngsters combining well with the older guys and the experiments of using Faf de Klerk at 10 and Grant Williams at wing paying off nicely.
Williams is a very exciting prospect, whether at scrumhalf or on the wing, and I can’t wait to see how his future unfolds. It was also great to see Makazole Mapimpi in fine form again.
Next up Ireland, and what a Test that promises to be.
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