Schalk Burger believes that the Springboks’ depth is being stretched, and it is having an impact on the influence that the bench is having.
Rassie Erasmus’ back-row stocks have been hit particularly hard in the build-up to and during the Rugby Championship, with Elrigh Louw, Juarno Augustus, and Cameron Hanekom ruled out for the entirety of the competition, while Jasper Wiese missed the opening rounds due to suspension.
Matters only got worse when Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit both missed the second Test against the Wallabies, while Jean-Luc du Preez fell ill before the game in Cape Town.
This led to Kwagga Smith starting in the number eight jumper against the Wallabies, while Andre Esterhuizen was drafted onto the bench and continued his development as a ‘hybrid player’, featuring in the victory in the Mother City as a back-rower.
Affects our Bomb Squad the most
Burger feels that the mounting injuries in the squad, as well as Erasmus’ tinkering of the Springboks team from match to match, have influenced the impact that the famed Bomb Squad and replacements have had on matches against the Wallabies.
He was also left shocked by the fact that hooker Malcolm Marx played almost the entire 80 minutes, a rarity for the Boks since Erasmus returned to the fold.
Fellow legendary Springbok Jean de Villiers asked Burger, on The Verdict podcast, whether the injuries and late changes played a role in the areas where Erasmus’ men were poor against the Wallabies in Cape Town.
“Yeah, I think it actually affects our Bomb Squad the most,” Burger replied.
“We haven’t had the impact off the bench. This weekend, Eben and Lood came on, and they fired up, but Malcolm Marx played 78 minutes. We haven’t seen that under Rassie forever.
“We thought the Bomb Squad would come early and see if they could have a benefit like Wilco Louw at scrum time, he also came on like 65 minutes, gone are 45 minutes straight sub – do the full Bomb Squad.
“Andre Esterhuizen came on at flank, Australia win the ball at the back – is Andre Esterhuizen the right guy to stop a maul? And they score.
“I think that’s where it has been hitting us hardest.”
Pressure on starters
Burger agrees with Japan boss Eddie Jones that the Springboks are currently going through a transition period with their squad but adds that the depth is being stretched and it’s putting added pressure on the starting players to lay down a good platform.
“We know that Franco Mostert can cover the role at blindside flanker for us, but is he a long-term solution? No, but he has to at the moment because we’ve got six players out at loose forward. Our depth up front, especially, is stretched, and we’re also in a critical phase, and it’s always going to happen where we’ve got a transition,” he said.
“Who is the next best hooker? Has Bongi taken a step back? Jan-Hendrik Wessels was also injured, our bench is stretched, and that’s putting a lot of pressure on the starters to lay the platform.”
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Lacking minutes
Ex-Boks hooker Hanyani Shimange echoed Burger’s sentiments but says the chopping and changing of the team means that some players are lacking game-time and aren’t as match sharp as they should be.
“After Ox Nche, who can scrum as well as him? Last year, we had Gerhard Steenekamp, and he did a great job. At hooker, if Malcolm Marx goes down, we need Bongi to be on form,” he said.
“Marnus van der Merwe has hardly played Test rugby; Frans Malherbe has been missed. Steven Kitshoff is gone. Elrigh Louw is injured, so the depth is being stretched, but we’ll find out a lot.
“You could pick a team now if we were playing in a World Cup final. Chances are Handre Pollard is at ten, Grant Williams, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel, Cheslin Kolbe, all definitely there, full-back is a bit of a toss-up.
“But there’s a core group of players that maybe aren’t on form at the moment purely because of rotation or minutes, but these guys need to get minutes for these guys and get them playing somehow so they can hit their straps, but it’s a short runway to New Zealand.”