RUGBY NEWS - The fact that the Springboks will be going into their third match of their European tour with their third different back row combination brings into focus one of the main reasons that the South African team has struggled with its identity recently.
On the occasion of the clash with Italy in Padau, this time it is not a selection call that will bring about the change, but the paternity leave granted to Siya Kolisi. The Stormers man will be back with the Boks for next week’s clash with the Welsh in Cardiff, and with Duane Vermeulen and Francois Louw not available for that game because of club calls, it will mean yet another radical change to the back-row.
The problem with all the changes to the back row is that the resources available to coach Allister Coetzee in that area reflect a wider problem, which is the lack of like for like back-up.
The challenge facing an international coach shouldn’t revolve just around choosing the best available players in his squad, but on finding the right mix of players and styles so that he isn’t pigeon-holed into changing the game strategy if there is an injury.
For instance, Handre Pollard and Elton Jantjies, who have been the two flyhalves in the match 23 for most of the year, are quite different players (though not as different as either of them would be to the third flyhalf, Curwin Bosch or, if he were there, someone like Morne Steyn).
If Pollard goes off early in the Italy clash the Boks will have to adapt their game-plan as Jantjies isn’t as strong on the gain-line. Of course, it also goes the other way, and we saw in the Newlands clash with the All Blacks last month how the Boks became more of an attacking threat when Pollard came on in the last quarter.
There are other areas which are a potential concern. Is Bongi Mbonambi, or Chiliboy Ralepelle for that matter, a like for like replacement for Malcolm Marx? Okay, so Marx is a special player, but the point is that there is a marked difference in playing styles and that does have an impact on the approach that the team can take into the game.
There is still a slight element of doubt over whether Marx will be fit for Saturday’s game. If he isn't, it will be interesting to see how the Boks adapt to a new hooker who is very different from the first choice.
The make-up of the back-row can have an even more profound impact on what kind of game you can play, and the Boks have not been helped by the loose-forward merry-go-round that has been enacted for much of the year.
Think back to June and the early part of the Rugby Championship, when the debate revolved around whether Coetzee should move away from the mobile combination that he had playing for him when Jaco Kriel was fit.
