Shakers and Movers

The Boks who will be hard to replace..Vermeulen, Etzebeth, Am, Pollard, Marx, Kolbe , Faf and the big boot of Frans Steyn.

I mostly agree with those. 

1. Wiese has been a worthy replacement for Thor this season, though, he is not the breakdown threat that Thor is. Wiese's 98% tackle success is very impressive, and he has been the best by far of generating momentum as a carrier. I'm talking prime Alberts momentum. In the Lions series, where our pack was obliterated, Wiese was moving forwards at will through the line. Has shown an aptitude to learn from mistakes, and handles pressure well. 
2. Am is a fantastic player, in a well coached team. All we need is line integrity from 13, because we are not going to be using the ball, so Am is pretty much redundant for the most part. 
3. Pollard has gone backwards, but we don't need a well rounded 10. He will, as a talent, be hard to replace, but his role in the system is easily covered. Nobody really comes close to the ceiling of Pollard. I would like to see him play more to his potential. He could and should be on the level of Sanchez. 
4. Faf, when fit, is Januarie 2.0. This is not a skillful player, he has always been rough around the edges. When playing at his best, he is a disruptor, who amplifies our defence. Those qualities aren't found in our other 9s, so in that sense, he will be very hard to replace. 
5. Marx and Etzebeth are in a league of their own. 
6. Frans is more than just a big boot, it's about the application. He is a smart player, and makes decisive contributions. We have a lot of very stupid passive players in the team, and having a Frans, who is fiercely competitive, is irreplaceable. He is effective in everything he does. Not quite the physical presence of his prime, but still quite brutal in contact. Our second best 12, behind Esterhuizen, but the best in the squad; talented enough to play anywhere in the backline successfully aside from 9, though, I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a go of even that. 
7. Willie. The one missing from the list. Bosch is the next best 15, then there is a very sharp drop off in quality. We don't have another playmaker at 15, at all. He has been under-utilised in the backwards 1940s Stompie model, but he is still a threat, and has been a big game player often. Nobody has really been better, aside from Frans in the Welsh and NZ wins. When Willie is gone, all we'll have are the favourites Fassi, Willemse and Gelant. Only one has potential, Gelant, though Bosch is actually our best option. 
8. Kolbe is window dressing. Not our best wing. He is more for the casuals, with some jinks etc that make for exciting viewing. We can replace him. Already, Kriel has set the benchmark at 14 for this season. Kolbe has had a handful of tests that were standouts. A threat, but not someone we can't replace. 

What a pity we never had the use of Frans …. far more times than we actually got him on the field

Longest serving Springbok in years, just not tests.... recently surpassing Matfield

I have no doubt at all that we would have won more games, with him in the side

Sadly, this happens a lot. Brussow was another. A force so dominant, he owned McCaw, Pocock and Hooper in their primes. There'd be no 2009 success without him. Frans was never given a fair shot, especially given how loyal SA rugby is to shockingly poor players. South Africa seems to be afraid of talent and intellect. There's a base line that they feel comfortable with, and sadly, that isn't very good on the world stage. We should be dominant, but we have to be so reliant on a small few to carry the stragglers. So many talented players have been outcasts. We lost Kockott because of Januarie. That's another. 

"Brussow was another"

What an absolute beast of a player..... I said back then, that he would go on to become a Springbok legend....., which I also said about Marx, after his debut.

Brussow is the one player that I was so sad to get wrong about becoming a Springbok legend

He had some injury issues, but he was largely available. In 2015, he was tried with Louw, and we cleaned the deck before the WC. Played very well. Just not played very often. The excuse was he was too small.