Springboks legends Schalk Burger and Jean de Villiers have reacted to Rassie Erasmus’ decision to invite Northampton Saints lock JJ van der Mescht to attend the first virtual alignment camp.
The former Sharks and Stade Francais second-rower was one of just two uncapped players among the 21-man group of players from around the world, along with Bordeaux-Begles prop Carlü Sadie.
The 26-year-old lock earns his inclusion off the back of a strong start to the season, having made the switch to PREM Rugby after his spell in France.
He is also brought in off the back of Erasmus’ honest admission that South Africa’s lock stocks aren’t quite what he wants them to be. The position is traditionally one of strength for the Boks, but the head coach said that the age profile and depth is not quite what it needs to be.
Rassie’s take on the Springbok locks
“My honest opinion is that we are thin at lock, if you look at our lock depth, age bracket, and the number of caps that we have there. Ruan (Nortje) and Salmaan (Moerat) are the settled, average-aged guys,” Erasmus told reporters in January.
On the Saints lock, he added: “Also, JJ van der Mescht will he have enough time [before the World Cup], and will we have enough hands-on time with him to get him into the Springbok culture and shape.
“With every player we bring in, we let him understand how we do things and see how he handles the training sessions. I think JJ is a monster of a guy, 150kgs, 26 years old. Will we have enough time with him? Will he understand our culture? Do we really need him? At this stage, we look at our locks; it’s RG on that side, Eben is suspended, and all of them are past 30.”
Speaking on the Verdict podcast, former captain and centre De Villiers echoed Erasmus’ sentiments as he unpacked the selection of Van der Mescht with Burger.
De Villiers says that it has been a real strength of Erasmus and his staff over the years to bring younger players into the squad, even if they don’t play, so that they can evaluate them and see if they fit in.
“You have to look at the age profile of the players, not just in terms of this year, but next year’s World Cup and then post-World Cup,” the 109 Test cap Bok said.
“How do you introduce new people to that environment and see what they are like? That’s where Rassie and his team have always been so good, they bring guys in, they get them in their alignment camps, see them in a different environment, see what they like personality-wise.”
Tighthead lock, the number four in South Africa, has clearly been identified as an area of concern for the Springboks with Eben Etzebeth (34) and RG Snyman (31) now in their 30s, whilst Salmaan Moerat (28) has flattered to deceive but has also had his injury issues.
Ruan Venter (23) has been namechecked as a possible option in the position but plays most of his rugby at blindside for the Lions, though the club has played him in the second-row on occasion.
“JJ van der Mescht is a big human being. He kind of fits that four lock profile, a big bruiser, big carrier, so it’s great that they are getting him in,” De Villiers added.
“It’s not necessarily that he’ll be playing Test matches, but at least now the Bok group will have a better understanding of him not only as a rugby player but as a human being.”
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New enforcer
Burger believes that he could be a real weapon in an already powerful Springboks forward pack.
“He brings that enforcer role, ball-carrying ability, he’s 145kgs and 6’8 or 6’7, he’s massive. With our four locks at the moment, we have Eben, obviously he has got the work rate, but he’s an older player who has been out for the bulk of the URC,” the former flanker said.
“Then you think, who’s coming up behind him? We know Salmaan Moerat played there, but he might be falling back in the rankings a little bit.
“You can always have an extra X factor. You think about how dominant the Springbok pack is, and then you add an extra carrier like JJ, it can’t be a bad thing.”
De Villiers pointed to Venter as a player who isn’t quite in the same mould as the current Springbok locks but does offer the kind of ‘hard-edge’ that the team is after.
“If you look at the URC, Ruan Venter is suddenly playing four lock. He is nice and mobile, but also very physical,” he said.
“It’s a bit of a different kind of lock as well compared to what we’ve had previously, like Franco Mostert and Ruan Nortje, those guys.
“Where these guys are a little bit more physical, a different kind of player, and it kind of adds to the Jasper Wiese effect that you have, that really hard-edged guy in your pack.”
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