Springboks to ring the changes for Romanian World Cup challenge

The Springboks will be continuing with the rotational policy they have adopted over the season when they take on Romania in their second pool game of the World Cup at the Stade de Bordeaux on Sunday afternoon (3pm).

Fresh from picking up a solid win over Scotland in their opening match with their first stringers, the Boks will now look to give their more fringe players a run.

ALSO READ: WATCH – Kolisi defends Libbok’s goal kicking

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber will name his matchday squad for the clash on Wednesday evening, and assistant coach Felix Jones said player management could come into play this week.

“One of the big focus areas for us this year has been to manage player load. Obviously, we want to win every week, but we have a quality squad in which the players are pushing one another for places, so we may make a few rotations,” explained Jones on Monday.

“It’s important for us to balance the load, so should we progress in the competition we have a squad that is match fit, which will allow us to call on any player at any time when we need them.”

Weakest team

Although Romania are the weakest team in Pool B and are seen by most as an easy bonus point win for the top teams in the pool, Jones says that the Springboks will give them the respect they deserve and look to build momentum into the rest of the competition.

“We’ll treat the match against Romania as we do every other game. The most important thing is to give ourselves an opportunity to win the match and then we’ll see how things pan out,” said Jones.

“Their coach spoke directly to their fans at home after their last match and said they wanted to make their nation proud.

“They are a passionate team, and they won’t take a step back in their physicality. They also have good backs and an impressive distance kicking game, so there are plenty of threats.”

The Boks may have shown signs that they were on the right trajectory with a satisfying victory against Scotland, but Jones said there were areas they wanted to improve for the rest of the campaign.

“I don’t think any coach or player will be completely happy with a performance. As a team you want to work on improving things every week, but in general I believe we are moving in the right direction,” admitted Jones.

Entertaining round

With an entertaining opening round of matches in the global spectacle now over, Jones said some of the results proved that it would be a thrilling showpiece event.

“One could certainly see the competitiveness of the Rugby World Cup coming out in the first round,” said Jones. 

“Our match could have gone either way at a point, and the match between Wales and Fiji, as well as the game between England and Argentina were outstanding for the tournament and the spectators. In general, it was a great opening round for the World Cup.”