I'm probably going to get crucified for saying this but I hope Meyer doesn't wield the axe too liberally when he selects his Bok squad to play Argentina in Salta on Saturday.
For those who disagree, I'd ask you to think back and remember how many times you've seen the national anthem sung in a hailstorm. The conditions last weekend were about as bad as they get in South Africa and I'm happy to forgive a few of the players their handling or tactical kicking errors.
I expect Meyer will pick Eben Etzebeth as his #5 lock giving Lood de Jager the chance to show his value in his preferred position. I see quite a few rugby noobs on this board who don't appreciate the difference in the #4 and #5 lock positions. Lood was effectively playing out of position last Saturday and he'll relish a return to his #4 role so look for a marked improvement there.
Another player out of position last weekend was Marcell Coetzee playing as a blindside flanker. I don't think Marcell had a bad game at all and I'll be happy enough if Meyer persists with his twin fetcher selection. Both Coetzee and Louw are big units who can carry it up as strongly as a blindsider is expected to and also put in the big hits when necessary, while they have the added bonus of being very strong scavengers on the ground. Having said that, if Meyer chooses to give any of Teboho Mohoje, Juan Smith or even new addition Warren Whiteley a go then I won't complain too loudly. I've been quite critical of both Francois Louw and Duane Vermeulen in the past but they were without doubt two of our best players at Loftus.
Our front row struggled on Saturday but the conditions were difficult and let's not forget that the front row has always been the Pumas main weapon. I suspect Francois Hougaard in for Ruan Pienaar may be another change that Meyer will be considering but I really hope he sticks with Handre Pollard at flyhalf. No reason to juggle the centres or the outside backs at all so at most I expect Meyer will make 2 or 3 changes at lock and possibly a new loose forward or a scrumhalf.
I predict that - weather permitting - the Bokke will win more comfortably than they did at home and they'll go on to compete very strongly against an improved Wallabies team and the ultra consistent "manne in die swart truie".
Go Bokke!
