Whoever is selected to fill the position for the Boks will be making a rare appearance in that role, but his direct opponent will be a player who has played most of his international rugby on the blindside flank. .
So if Coetzee goes left field with his selection, which he may do, there won’t be quite the element of risk that there could be against other opponents.
The man the English media view as the surprise selection in the match day 23 and the probable wearer of the No 7 jersey (outside of South Africa the openside wears No 7) against the Boks, Tom Wood, says that he is a long way from playing the traditional openside role.
“I played with the seven on my back at Northampton for the first two or three years but because I have a seven on my back doesn’t mean that I fill the traditional role, just like when I am wearing six,” said Wood as he came to terms with his elevation back into the team after being discarded by Eddie Jones.
“I play six at Northampton and play off the back of lineouts all the time,” he added.
Wood has played most of his rugby on the blindside flank so he will have to adapt, just like whoever wears the South African No 6 (openside in our country) will have to do the same after the only specialist opensider Roelof Smit was forced to fly home this week after being injured at training.
The Boks have been playing their cards close to their chest, but Coetzee did invite the people questioning him at a media conference early in the week on the wisdom of improvising in his selection to take a look at the likely England selection.
