Eggchaser on new Bok team to play Scotland

This is a side picked for running rugby. Good points about the front row. Rassie is giving the oaks a chance. Yes there are risks but regardless he must test his squad.

I am a little surprised at the choice of locks. Nortje fine but not a single other lock specialist in the squad.
I think some of the oks here underestimate how good England were. i hear comments like Scotland are far better. If they are it could be a hard 80 minutes.

Fassi?

What has he done over the last 24 months to deserve a start? He's been poor at his club and injured the rest of the time.

I don't have too many issues with this team, but i would have liked to see Quan start and Fassi perhaps be the bench option. Quan is a little genius at 15 and if Fassi doesn't have a good game and is then replaced by Quan, and Quan delivers his usual low error rate performance, I'd say Quan might move ahead of Fassi in the pecking order. And I'd have no issue with that.

Love that Wiese is getting a shot and the Elrigh has also gotten a chance. Porthen and Muchu coming off the bench...that's some nice mobility for the final 30. The starting front row is probably already gonna grind Scotland into dust.

Nice to see Roos getting an actual start. But i think he needs to be careful and not try to hulk his way into Rassie's good books.

In this video, you'll note that Tim says the Boks won 100% of their own rucks against England. A lot of that was to do with how well Hanekom and Divvy got around the park. Roos needs to make sure he slots in there and helps to keep that stat as high as possible. Last year, when Jasper wasn't there, the Bok pack seemed a shadow of itself. And that probably puts a little more pressure on Roos. Lets hope he rises to the challenge.

Saying all that, I do hope he finds himself in a touch of space from time to time because he was a try machine this year.

Springbok team to face Scotland in Pretoria:
15 Aphelele Fassi (Toshiba) – 15 caps, 35 pts (7t)
14 Edwill van der Merwe (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 5 caps, 25 pts (5t)
13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 88 caps, 105 pts (21t)
12 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 50 caps, 71 pts (7t, 9c, 4p, 2dg)
11 Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 24 caps, 45 pts (9t)
10 Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls) – 85 caps, 825 pts (8t, 124c, 174p, 5dg)
9 Embrose Papier (Vodacom Bulls) – 7 caps, 0 pts

8 Evan Roos (DHL Stormers) – 8 caps, 0 pts
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain, Toyota Verblitz) – 96 caps, 70 pts (14t)
6 Paul de Villiers (DHL Stormers) – 1 cap, 0 pts
5 Ruan Nortje (Kubota Spears) - 19 caps, 5 pts (1t)
4 Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls) – 2 caps, 0 pts
3 Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers) – 29 caps, 10 pts (2t)
2 Johan Grobbelaar (Vodacom Bulls) – 8 caps, 0 pts
1 Boan Venter (Fidelity Securedrive Lions) – 8 caps, 5 pts (1t)

Replacements:
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 10 caps, 10 pts (2t)
17 Ntuthuko Mchunu (DHL Stormers) – 3 caps, 0 pts
18 Zach Porthen (DHL Stormers) - 4 caps, 0 pts
19 Ben-Jason Dixon (DHL Stormers) – 8 caps, 10 pts (2t)
20 Vincent Tshituka (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 1 cap, 0 pts
21 Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – 13 caps, 5 pts (1t)
22 Grant Williams (Kobe Steelers) – 29 caps, 40 pts (8t)
23 Quan Horn (Fidelity Securedrive Lions) – 1 cap, 5 pts (1t)

Stats and facts:

Springbok record against Scotland

Played 30, Won 25, Lost 5. Points for: 792, Points against: 339. Tries scored: 96, Tries conceded: 32. Highest score 68, Biggest win 58 points, Average score: 26-11. Win %: 83.3%

This is the new team. Not sure why he is starting Pollard and Papier. Yes, he was the form 9 but came unstuck against Leinster and all of his old habits came back.

Then Willemse to Midfield, Fassie to 15, Horn on the bench as backup.

I wonder why Rassie did not pick Jenkins or at leas JJ.

We can't continue to have or rely on Lood, Etzebeth, RG, Mostert as our lock covering. Wasted time with Moerat. We do have other locks, but we need to get some ballots. Between JJ and Jenkins, we can cover Etzebeth. JJ in the first 50 and Jenkins in the last 30

Here are my thoughts on the selection.

15 Aphelele Fassi – Why not stick with Willemse and let him settle at 15 or at least Horn
14 Edwill van der Merwe - Probably needs a crack, did well against the BaBa's Arendse been disappointing
13 Jesse Kriel – Muscle tech retain his spot, but I would build depth here. Hooker only back next week or at least try Moodie at 13.
12 Damian Willemse – Looks like Rassie needs some injection with pollard at 10
11 Canan Moodie – Happy to see is starting, still no replacement for Kolbe but good balance at the back
10 Handre Pollard – I would boot him to the currie cup, he has no creative flair, he has run his race. Too late for him to catchup to Sasha or Libbok.
9 Embrose Papier – Nice to see he has been reward for his form, but very disappointing in the Leinster final. Let's see if he can bounce back.

8 Evan Roos – Finally gets a crack, but think with Wiese and Cameron, not sure where he fits
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit – If he breaks down, we are screwed. Our best player
6 Paul de Villiers – Great to see he gets another run. High work in carry, tackle and breakdown
5 Ruan Nortje (Kubota Spears) - He played well on Satu
4 Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls) – Lets hope he can stay on the field, but another test without his brother.
3 Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers) – Quadzilla is back, lets hope he can put his troubles behind him
2 Johan Grobbelaar (Vodacom Bulls) – Should have had more caps by now
1 Boan Venter (Fidelity Securedrive Lions) – Jury still out, but great depth

Replacements:
16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – Becoming part of the new bomb squad
17 Ntuthuko Mchunu (DHL Stormers) – Hope he can continue his barn storming runs.
18 Zach Porthen (DHL Stormers) - Great to see him, next Gen bomb squad with Mchunu.
19 Ben-Jason Dixon (DHL Stormers) – Got through a lot of work
20 Vincent Tshituka - Over rated, poor season
21 Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls) – not 100%
22 Grant Williams (Kobe Steelers) – Continuity, but not much difference between him and paper
23 Quan Horn – Back up to Fassi, can cover 10 if Pollard fails.

Still worried about lock, as I said, don't think we should continue with the locks over 30, they seem to break down all the time and not reliable

Lots of changes, worried about rhythm in the team and Scotland really tore Argentina apart. Not sure if we can keep pace with them, but they will be at altitude and jet lagged

Roos and Hanekom can both play anywhere in the back row, but Roos can probably cover center too... 👀

Looks like you can use your phone emojis... 🍻 Ed!!!

And the post time stamp on my side reflect my own time zone, not SA time... 😁

..👀🍻🇺🇸

I have to come back to the point, how many Ou Ballies, can we carry into the next World Cup. This is the season for Rassie to blood and cap the youngsters. Given that Rassie contracts runs until 2031, he is allowed to lose at least one World Cup.

Not sure we can carry the likes of

Etzebeth
Kolisi
Pollard
Dud
Kriel, by the skin of his teeth.
PTSD, just about squeak through

Those that were force to retire or are crocked
Malherbe
Kittshoff
Bongi - Lost form
Trevvaaa
RG - Still hope we can patch him up
Lood - Only 32 but have spent more seasons on the side line than actual matches.

Out of form or too old
Wille
Fassie
Faf
Mpimpi
Am
Reinach
Kwagga

That is the core of the team for 2019 and 2023.

The only real survivors are

Marx
Kolbe
Willemse

We need to find our 33 and the the other 12 players to be on standby. So 45 players in total.

For the out of form and old guys I would put them on standby, keep them close.

The ‘team’ is Willemse, Kolbe, Kriel, Dud Allende, Ox, Marx, Eben, Kolisi and Dud Toit…all the other pieces have already been successfully swopped out. So which of those players makes 2027 in sufficient likely form to be effective?

Willemse, Ox and Marx should be okay failing injury.

All the backs are still close to peak career. You can argue Dud Allende should not be there in any case, but preserving a sense of team makes an argument for his inclusion.Still Kriel is more important to the defense. I’ve never been a fan, but no center in rugby has applied more defensive pressure without obvious mistakes.

So my back ‘core’ would be Willemse, Kolbe and Kriel.

In the forwards I thought Eben, my favorite Bok player, was not the same guy last year. The concussion thing is dangerous. He should retire with great honor.

Dud Toit made a successful shift back to lock. He was never a flank, his shortcomings on the deck amplified by Kolisi and only partially offset by Marx and Kwagga when we came on. The obvious move is to put Dud Toit at lock and possibly make him captain. Kolisi could soldier on if he could finally learn to fetch, but absent that and the mythical captain’s role, there is no case for him.

So it seems the core team for the WC we can reasonably count on is….Willemse, Kolbe, Kriel, Ox, Marx, Dud Toit…..6 players out of 15. Maybe that’s enough to maintain the team identity….but it’s getting a bit thin. The good news is players like Edwil, Esterhozen, Sacha, Wilco and Wiese have already coordinated well with the core team

Mozart, have to agree. I just don't think Rassie can risk having so many long timers in the team. We are seeing the impact that we have to parachute in Paul De Villiers. Imagine if that was a crunch game against the All Blacks in a semi final and you pull a guy in that didn't make the squad and then has less than 10 test matches.

Kwagga is out, but could make a come back next year, why bank on Kolisi or even Van Staden who is now moonlighting as a hooker come flanker. But his bulked up and almost the size of a prop and not suitable for a fast pace open side flank.

So why not get as many caps in to Elrich Louw, Hannekom, Paul De Villiers this season. We have something like 12 test left.

Then we have Hooker and Moodie than can play both 12 and 13, but are they the answer. Moodie has delivered the goods at 13 for the boks but struggles on his defence at the bools.

I get your point that Kriel is required. Dud was good back in 2015 and he is a great tractor and not the 12 we want.

I noticed that Willemse has gone back to 12 for this match after playing one of his best games at 15.

So we might be a bit light on 12 or it could just be timing. Give Dud a break, let Willemse have a crack but I would prefer to see Hooker. He has been back of the line behind AE this season and mostly used at 13 or on the wing.

I would love to see

1. Papier
2. Sasha
3. Arensdse
4. Hooker
5. Moodie
6. Kolbe
7. Willemse

But I get why Rassie backs the likes of Kriel and Dud, we had one backline player in the finals and that was Willie and no 9. Our backs managed to get through a finals without getting injured. That is high risk play from Rassie hoping that Kwagga can slot in the backs and that Kolbe can cover 9

"Papier
Sasha
Arensdse
Hooker
Moodie
Kolbe
Willemse"

That's a crazy backline. Must be at or near the highest IQ backline we could pick.

The Sacha/Hooker axis is truly mouth-watering. You just know that no matter what Sacha does, Hooker will be right off his shoulder wating to carry it on.

Moodie and Hooker are only going to have a short lived career.
Adams and Muller were the best shoolboys in the world last year. They would make any franchise team in South Africa.
Don't be stupid and put all your money on Moodie and Hooker.

So Mozzietard says twice world rugby player of the year Du Toit (Not Dud Toit) should have been a lock and not a number 7. Then we get half wit Pakster saying the outstanding Du Toit was poor last Saturday. Bwahahhahahahahahahahhaha what a bunch of clowns!
Mozzietard says I am talking down the Boks to lower expectations. But what I do know is a lot of front line Boks are out injured and this side for Saturday is very much a second string outfit. Scotland just won an away match against Argentina. So being the realist I am I suggest it could be a tough afternoon. How will our new guys go?
Its this realism that prevents me making the horrendous blunders ou mozzietard has become infamous for.

He Beens, go easy on Mozzie,

We all have our gripes. Mom probably pay closer attention to Steph than most of us where as Mike pays close attention to Andre Est, and I pay close attention to Kwotalisi.

I'm still not sold on Adams and Muller, been watching the age group and they have both been blunted. The leaked a lot of tries in the midfield against Wales and scored most of their tries through the maul. Not so expansive as we thought they would be.

Hooker needs to dump the sharks and go to the bulls and pair up with Moodie, or if I was Dobby, I would bring both of them to Cape Town. We are desperate for centres. We can't carry on with Nel and Du Plesis as our midfield. Hartzenberg can only play wing and hasn't stepped to the midfield.

But Hooker will languish as the sharks, that is where talent escape from not get created.

Roos and Libbok are recent successes once they left them