Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber said the competition amongst players for places in the Bok team excited him as his charges got ready for a one-week training camp in Paris from Monday before kicking off their Castle Lager Outgoing Tour in Cardiff next week.
Unfortunately, Nienaber and his management staff's decision to keep with their identified World Cup 2023 elite may backfire sooner than later. With 20 tests to go to 2023, the need to blood players who are currently in sublime form was unfortunately not used when they were ignored.
However, one must accept that the coaching staff has "inside" information and trust their current squad and has made it clear that new blood will only be brought into the squad if and only if current players are injured or lost form "completely". One can only ask how much more "form" must Willie le Roux and Damian Willemse lose to be dropped.
Maybe the contracting model currently in use for the coaching staff must be relooked at. Nienaber makes no secret that he is only working towards success in the 2023 World Cup in France. If a Springbok coach is rather contracted with only set performance requirements and guidelines, his attitude will drastically change towards the development of young players to ensure a longer period of success for Springbok rugby.
Follow our discussion regarding the Springbok squad
The injury of Frans Malherbe was the ideal opportunity to call up Carlu Sadie of the Emirates Lions. Unfortunately, it was decided to recall Thomas du Toit who is a brilliant player but not the anchor we need at tight-head. Carlu Sadie is a Frans Malherbe clone which could even be a stronger scrummager than Malherbe himself.
At lock, the injury to RG Snyman and Nicolaas van Rensburg created a bigger problem than most are willing to admit. Salmaan Moerat's inclusion in the touring squad was well warranted by his current form for the DHL Stormers, however, the inclusion of Ruan Nortje could have gone a long way in "preparing" the Springboks next generation of Springboks. Marvin Orie is at best an average URC player that needs to step aside as soon as younger talent is identified.
The loose forwards is more of a personal opinion, however, with the number of talent available we can "fix" some cracks in the Springboks armour. I am known to not be a fan of Kwagga Smith and Franco Mostert and would replace them with any of Evan Roos, Elrigh Louw, Phepsi Buthelezi, Arno Both and Marcell Coetzee. My pick would be Evan Roos and Marcell Coetzee on current form. If Salmaan Moerat's form after a long injury break was good enough to be selected then Roos' form in the Currie Cup, Rainbow Cup and URC should have been more than good enough.
At the back, we had the ideal opportunity to replace a struggling out of form Willie le Roux with Warrick Gelant who is currently the only player outside the Springboks squad who deserves an opportunity.