Faf is now a poor man's Januarie, where he was Januarie 2.0 in his prime six years ago. Willemse, the Black De Allende, doesn't have the talent for professional rugby. Malherbe was poor. Libbok patchy. Arendse is not a test wing. Why are we still playing Steph? Wiese is still the best 8 in the country.
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Rassies' risky decision to send players directly to New Zealand without subjecting them to any tests beforehand appears to have backfired. Instead of following the usual protocol of hosting home match series to kick off the test season, Rassie took a gamble that ultimately left many of the players lacking in test match experience to play the All Blacks in New Zealand. As a result, the team struggled with rusty performances and a significantly higher individual error rate.
That aside, the 1st choice in various positions is a lot clearer. Some of the players against Australia are just better players that offer more on attack.
This is the team I would select if the Boks were in the World Cup next week:
15. Willie le Roux
14. Cheslin Kolbe
13. Lukhanyo Am
12. Andre Esterhuizen (I am sick of the pedestrian Delande).
11. Ardense
!0. Libbock
9. Faff (He needs more game time to develop a combination with Libbock).
8. Vermuelen
7. Steph Dutoit
6. Kwagga/
5. Snyman
4. Eztebeth
3. Malbherbe
2. Marx
1. Ox (if fit, for diversity in the front row to ensure Marx can start).
Substitutes:
16. Bongi
17. Kitchoff
18. Vincent Koch
19. Marco Van Staden (more all-round back row cover than Wiese)
21. Delande (Maybe, if it is a 4/3 split)
22. Grant Williams (Could possibly start)
23. Damien Willemse
Overall, it is clear that some players from the previous week's starting lineup performed better than those in this match. Adjustments to the team composition should be considered based on these performances.