The uninjured Springbok team

Willemse

Kolbe

Moody

Esterhozen

Arendse

Sacha

van de Bergh

Ox

Marx

Wilco/Thomas

Your Guess is as Good as Mine

Nortje

de Villiers?

Venter

Wiese

It’s a long time since we saw the green and gold. And that pack somehow doesn’t have the same aura….big question marks at 4 and 6. Still I’m excited about the prospect of Venter at 7.

Esterhuizen is a major part of the reason why the Sharks backline is misfiring badly and t I doubt very much he will be in any Springbok playing team other than perhaps a back-up loosie, In ane event Estsrhuizen is 32 years old and not showing any sign of being a suitable player by th e time t he WC comes around,

As for t he rest I think the centers remains a problem. None of t he 13's -other than Van Wyk than Van Wyk of t he Lions showed anything in particular, We have no replacement for De Allende yet. and I think Muller will be groomed to take over the 13 role in the RWC squad,

I do not see any long term role for Wiese either. He is too slow and one-tracked to ne a long term solution. In his last test he gave away two crucial penalties and his value is virtually worthless at breakdowns, and in any other forms involvi.ng attacking rugby . I think Roos, Venter and Hanekom are the future loosies and De Villiers is an extremely valuable player at breakdown ball turnovers

As to t he locks Van Heerden playimg for the Stormers is in my opinion the best lock we have at present,

A Bok team running out in a big match without Etzebeth is going to be a tough transition

"Your Guess is as Good as Mine"

JJ VDM looks like he's gonna be involved. There's also Kobus Wiese.

My back three would be Cameron, Venter and Wiese.

Agreed on Eben. He's been the undisputed "big man" in a team of big men. He leaves behind a psychological chasm that nobody has the temperament to fill. It almost feels like the rest of the team have been able to chill because Eben carried the "don't F with us" mantle all on his own so well and for so long. To the point where of all the rugby I watch, absolutely nobody springs to mind, not one guy, when I try to think of who else could bring the crazy eyes for the Boks.

Who else do we know they literally only laughs or smiles on the field when he's angry?

Exactly.

Mozart

A greed with you about Etzebeth - he had been in the Springbok team since 2012 and emotionally all Springbok supporters will miss him like you stated.

However - in t he 2025 test season Etzebeth was played in the starting team and replaced at half time. So he was not that effective in 2025 as he used to be - so we are already had not seen him as often and effective as he was throughout his playing career,

However - his performances for the Sharks thus far this year was not up to his standard used to be and I> will be surprized if he will be back in test-playing this year,

In 13 months time the squad for the 2027 RWC will have to be named and since the Springboks will not play in tests in the period January to May 2027, URC performances in the 2026-27 season will be critical when is comes to squad selection in May 2027 . In the latter regard it is clear that some Springboks nearing retirement will no go back to Japan to play in the 2026-27 Japan ser.ies, In that category D u RToi.t, De Allende and Kolbe are included,

Well from the middle of 2025 it was Etzebeth replaced by the only other lock we have with real presence RG Snyman….with both gone we lose a lot, even if Eben has moved past peak Etzebeth.

On a positive note Moz...2026 is the year the world will learn the name Ruan Venter.

And I have a feeling they won't forget it.

Just as long as his father doesn’t diss Erasmus!

The loosie balance is an interesting conundrum. We've become so used to Kolisi and Steph that you kinda wonder how to put it together without him. I'd love to see Venter go at 7 but we may need him at 4, although Rassie probably has locks to burn in his opinion. Wiese is still the go to at 8, Roos has finally started to look like a workable option in his last game or two and Francke has to be on the radar too. Hanekom must be in the mix but he's yet to hit his straps after the injury. Is Kolisi out of the running? 6 is quite difficult, nobody is really making a convincing case. Interesting times.

On recent form Henko should also be in the mix for 13, smart and active defender and he can carry and break and has a feel for the right line. Willemse probably the #1 option at fullback, Quan can do utility from the bench.

I think I’d go with Wiese, Venter and Roos at open side. To me he has a physical edge on PdV at this point….and I’d focus him on fetching, open field linking and tackling.. with Venter and Wiese doing the in traffic running.

Kolisi still produces the odd dynamic ball carry, but his productivity is so low I hope we move on.

The retiring players are an issue but outside of that one feels the Boks are sitting rather pretty.

I feel like we could pick three Test back rows at the moment.

Paks, I'm more concerned about Kaptein than I am Hanekom. Watching Hanekom, I get the feeling he is focusing on positioning and the technicals more than what he is trying to play his heart out. And I don't blame him really cos he's been very unlucky the last two years. Elrigh looks to me like he's trying harder but getting less dividends and that's a bit worrying. Still, they're both recently back from big injuries so it's probably difficult to judge just yet. Venter was pretty disappointing most of last year after he came back from his injury.

But Roos worries me more than all of them. I mentioned in a game thread recently that he needs to understand that less is more sometimes. Rather chase one target and land it than chase two and land either. I still feel like he tries far too hard and thinks too little. Rassie has to somehow try and channel that energy and Roos has to be smart enough to hush his inner Jack Russell and adhere to the parameters. Still, despite many of us not being convinced by Roos, his heart is what has won us over in the end. One can't not want a warrior like that to succeed.

What I do like, in a more general sense, is that the players that have put their hands up this year, for the most part, strike me as high IQ players.

Remember the dominant ABs? When you think back to that team...Ben Smith, Richie, Jaws, Carter...on and on, the thing that stood out, that still stands out, is that they were high IQ players. The wasn't a numbskull among them.

And that's what the Boks seem be becoming. Up and down the squad, and within the group of hopefuls, it's the IQ that is standing out more and more for me.

So I do think that overall we are sitting quite pretty. An already dominant side that is bringing in even more smarts and talent. There are a lot worse positions to be in.

Interesting angle…rugby IQ. We talk very little about it, but we had a classic example today. Toulon score to make the deficit only 3 points. Leinster with 13 on the field. But 10 minutes later the score is 22 to 11 Leinster….Toulon never scored a point and Leinster scored 8.

Much like the French against the Boks last autumn ….when they got a man up they lost all their structure.

We see the same thing with Argentina, they constantly fall short of their physical potential. Of all the teams out there Ireland has probably got the biggest positive delta between physical potential and performance. The Boks second because they have been such a settled team

Also, individual IQ.

When a team loses its structure it's sort of a collective brain fart.

But individually, the right decisions, clever reads, anticipation, those things seem to make all the difference. Think Hooker versus Gelant or Marx versus Greyling.

And it's my big Roos query. He's more of an athlete than almost anybody I can think of, but I'm still not sure if he had the brain. Time will tell, I guess.

And then of course there are those guys like Jasper who are so effortless with their smarts that some plebs call them dumb muscle. Which says a lot more about them than it does about Wiese haha

The above is a bit of a joke it comes to loosie selection. Both Roos and De Villiers has pace and ball sense making them part of both defense and attacking ability as well as breakdown ball recovery and turnover,

Take an example - the try scored by Roos Satirday would never be scored by Wiese - he would be 50 meters behind the attacking play needed in such cases by loosies. Plainly he is pace-deficient and as a result when a tries to make breakdown turnovers he is routinely penalized, trying to make breakdown turnovers because he ios too slow in getting to breakdowns, In the last test Wiese was penalized twice trying to make turnovers. De Villiers made two crucial successful turnovers on Saturday and is the highest ranked Openside loosie in the URBC this year.

Venter is a blindside loosie and there are detailed information on the internet between functioning of a blindside loosie and open side loosie and that is why Venter is not i.n competition with De Villiers for the openside loosie position. Venter is the future replacement of Du Toit - with Venter playing when Du Toit is not available and.or rested but that is likely to happen until the 2027 RWC.

As an openide flank De Villiers is streets a head of other contenders to replace Kolisi.

I agree with you about Van Wyk at 13 this year, In the longer term the competitor will be Muller,

,

Eliminate Sacha and Venter from that starting team

One thing is clear - we are extremely lucky that M/ozart and Plum are not selecting the Springbok team.

One thing is clear, you are referring to Esterhozen

This might be the year the boks take a dip in form, With so much rugby since the World Cup, more test being added and constant squad rotation for 70 players being used in a single test is madness. Keeping in mind that other teams were finding there feet and trying to settle.

When the boks blow teams away it's normally with their stalwarts sprinkled with some young guns like Sasha and Hooker.

But now even they are injured and will only come back mid test season.

Word is out that Marx is also injured now that only leaves us with one in form Hooker which is Grobbies.

Of the old okes, so many has hardly featured.

Kittshoff, - Retired - Neck injury

Bongi - injured - out of form

Marx - Bicep injury

Malherbe - Long term injury - hasn't played for 3 seasons now sincce World Cup

Etzebeth - Injured, all season, red card suspension, lacks game time

RG - ACL injury, out all season

Lood - Hip opperation

PTSD - Injured, long term

Kwagga - Injured - out till end of the year.

Krappies - Injured

Sasha - Ankle, 3 months

Hooker - Shoulder 4 months

Probably a few more.

But you can't tell me losing all these players will be easy to replace at test level.

What gets me is the amount of matches and travelling the keep adding. The guys need a clean break, recovery time, conditioning and time to get back to match sharpness.

I saw an article relating to injuries on artificial pitches - about 30% higher on artificial pitches.

But that just an aside. We've talked before about the 12 month rugby season and the risks involved. Insufficient recovery time is reported to be one of the leading causes of sports injuries, on top of the simple math that the more you play, the more chances you have to get injured. No wonder many of the senior players are taking on the lesser demands of rugby in Japan while still getting a decent paycheck. I am fully in favour of us leaving the European Cup. We have to look better after our players.

Kitshoff has been fully replaced by Ox, Steenekamp, Boan Venter, Jan Hendrik Wessels. Then, an inform Mchunu will jump Boan and Jan in Ranking.

Bongi is easier to replace due to his lack of prominence and form than Marx. Johan grobbelaar, Jan Hendrik, and we also have Andre Hugo Venter, who is capable replacements.

Frans has been fully replaced by Wilco Louw and Thomas Du Toit. Neethling Fouche can also do the Job as well as Porthen, who has featured already.

Eben and RG will always be difficult to replace. Rassie has, therefore, called JJ van der Mescht. Ruan Nortje is already our settled 5. Then we have excellent locks in Ruben van Heerden, Adre' Smith, and Ruan Vermaak.

Cobus Wiese can also play Lock and Blindside Flank. I think we will be OK for now. With all due respect, Lood is to injury prone and not really prominent anymore.

Pieter Stef and Kwagga will always be difficult to replace. But we do have Elrigh Louw, Cobus Wiese, Cameron Hanekom, and Ben Jason Dixon. A real pity is Ruan Venter, and i hope he will be back soon. Paul de Villiers, Ivan Roos, Francke Horn, and Marcel Theunissen is also options.

Krappies is a loss, but enough replacements and new guys like Papier and Imad Kahn playing very well.

A Sacha injured will always be bad news. Pollard and Manie is still there. And I sincerely hope Rassie has a look at Jurie Matthee. Hooker is difficult to replace. Bring in Henco Van Wyk as Centre replacement, and Moodie can move in for Wing cover. Is Edwill vd Merwe still available? Then there is Sebastián de Klerk, Leolin Zas, and the exciting Chesswill Jooste.

It won't be easy but it's reachable. Besides building player depth is the best thing we can do before 2027.

Good point MPower, but we need to expect to take a dip, these guys have tasted test rugby but less than 5 caps over the past 3 seasons doesn't bode that well.

It comes to experience and winning win the chips are down, but for that to happen the players need to find a way through.

Rassies philosophy changed when he brought on a experienced front row against Australia, they were ahead on the scoreboard and then conceded a penalty which lead to Cooper kicking the conversation, it wasn't easy and 9/10 he would have missed but the Aussies seems to have our number to always upset us, even with a weaker team. That is where he realised he need those tough mental players and why Kwotalisie is never on the field in the last 40 min. He is okay to start but he doesn't have the brains to close down a match and pull the players through. Here is where Bongi shone through as in the Semi's against England and the poor chap broke down into tears.

However, what Rassie has done is nothing short of Miracle and the season is beyond his control land he saw it coming last year when he was using Pollard sparingly when he can.

"And I sincerely hope Rassie has a look at Jurie Matthee"

Pakie, just a backflip and high-fived himself.

...and, i agree. Jurie has shown himself to be a solid player a with a good head on his shoulders.

Hehe, I like Jurie but it's hard to gauge how good he is with the limited game time he gets. I'd rate him just behind Sacha, Pollard and Manie though in the SA stakes. He might need to move if he wants to get a permanent starting berth. Both the Sharks and the Lions can use him - even the Bulls with Pollard on the way out. But they have already invested in Kermit.

KC you are right. Bongi is a" Yster" in those crunch moments. We always want him on the "Wit Kant" to sort out Cocky Curry :)

All I was saying is that last season he didn't feature that much. But you right it doesn't take away the Class that he is.

Malcolm Marx was a revelation last season and when Kollisi is not available he will be my pick for Captain.

Jurie at the Bulls would be great to see.

Ja I think he'll fit well with what they appear to be heading towards.

Who is Kermit Pakie? Maybe it will be better for Jurie to move to the Lion's where he will be the incumbent in the fly-half position.

But he is a valuable player for the Stormers. Dobbo the Dodo should rotate him and Sacha much more. This way, Sacha doesn't carry all the playing load, and Jurie gets more game time.

Jurie has shown his worth and is a more than capable starter.

Who is Kermit Pakie?

Curwin Bosch.

I'd definitely start Jurie at the Lions. Chris Smith was badly exposed in the last three games, actually made to look like a bit of a plodder.

But with Sacha out for a while he should be getting more game at the Stormers. Not sure what domestic rugby is coming up though. Is the Currie Cup still a thing?

Ah okay. Will be interesting to see how Curwin gets along. Already the guy doesn't get game time.

After all, he has played for the Boks already, and the more game time he gets, the better his confidence will get.

So if this is what investment looks like, he is definitely better off at another franchise. I don't know how Currie Cup works, and i haven't watched it for atleast ten years.

Jurie was really steady for the Stormers at the beginning of the year when the boks were on tour, he help them to win a lot of away games in both comps. Not a flashy player, but he has size, skill and a decent kicking game on him. The Stormers backline moved a bit better. Where as Sasha and Willemse are instinctive players and hardly create that many opportunities or know how to build phases and unlock defenses. It is there individualism that breaks the line but they also stuff up a lot. Jurie can be a general in the backline.

Well, he will get his chance on Saturday, at least he got 20 min game time, but Dobbo will have to balance his players better next season. If the guy is doing well, don't yank him off to put a bok on the field. Give them 10 min, 20 min etc for a few games and then phase them in. Let them learn to play from the bench and make an impact on the final 20 min. If Jurie has a mare, then bring Sasha on earlier, but if he is doing his job, then why remove him?

Sounds like I’ve watched more Currie Cup than you have of late, Mpower !

You’re right about plastic pitches, Pakie. Dreadful injury toll from playing on them.

Injuries are positively correlated with age. Our winning team in 2023 was about 3 years older than prior winners. It’s not surprising we are seeing a lot of injuries.

Ah OK, Becs, you do like the SA boys as long as they don't play for ENG ;) Which SA players are standing out for you in the Currie Cup?

I haven’t watched any yet this season :) Been too busy watching my lot play !

And yes, I enjoy watching SA Rugby. As long as they stay away from my national team, I’m happy !!

Well, Becs... bit late now for the "staying away from my national team" thing. Point is, Mr. Mullet is already there ;)

Mr Mullet hasn’t been selected yet…….I’ve got my angry face on again now ;)

Will Wand and Orlando Bailey should be there instead.

Ah okay. Will be interesting to see how Curwin gets along. Already the guy doesn't get game time.

He's joining them in July. Yeah will be interesting to see where he's at since he's been playing second division rugby in France.

Ah my bad, I jumped the gun. Hopefully he'll get decent game time once he has joined.