Switching the WC winner to the most grueling defensive position on the field, when his defensive stats are never great, makes no sense,
Switching the WC winner to the most grueling defensive position on the field, when his defensive stats are never great, makes no sense,
There's nobody else...Roos went for the shoulder op and Kwagga is needed to cover 8...
Stopped reading when they called DDA "the bok bruiser"...
Give in to the Dark Side young padawan...let Darth Damian show you the way...
There's room for blunt brawn in the backline...daai ding is taai...stupid soms, maar taai en aanhoudend...
Rassie don't like finesse at 12, that much is clear...the phasing out of DdA can only be done once our backline and game plan has evolved enough to allow for it...starting Am @12 is a spec of light at the end of the tunnel...we played a center/flanker hybrid at 12 and a flanker/center at 6 for years now...it's the Saffa way...dwars.
Rassie is a fool for not including another specialist 12 in the squad after Esterhuizen became unavailable
Why the need to keep playing players out of position when there is plenty of talent sitting at home is beyond me.
For crying out loud - he selected 33 players surely that should contain two specialist 12’s? If not then fucking take 34 players on tour
Rassie is resistant to change and a control freak...but it's working for him...but the most important ingredient is luck...the bounce of the coin seems to favor him...and you can't buy it...
Bullshit Draad luck has fuck all to do with it
If luck was on our side that final Irish drop would have swung wide
We have better luck than in the past...the Irish loss will keep us humble...
all these complaints coming from all you winning coaches who know what you're talking about, makes me worried about our future under this useless Rassie guy.
Well go for it Chippo, for a change give us your insights instead of taking potshots with a popgun at those who meaningfully contribute.
There is guys like David Kriel, Rickus Pretorius besides Willemse and Moodie that’s out injured….these guys could have been utilised and capped…agree playing players out of position, when you have plenty of stock, is stupid.
I am keen to see how AM goes at 12. As he is getting older, he is going to be losing pace - so moving inside would allow him to use his playmaking ability more.
The combination of Sasha Zulu with AM may be the most creative inside-back combination selected by the Boks in many a year.
Perhaps an explosive type 12, a Tim Horan like would be a good fit.
This Sacha kid will make mistakes….a few kicks last week weren’t the best. But you can’t buy his competitive spirit. Last week he was often in position to collect the Aussie kicks, he gets stuck in at the rucks and he is an aggressive defender. And his decision making is already sophisticated and hard to predict. Throw that in with his explosive running and he’s the 10 we have never had.
Given our luck with previous young super stars….Big Joe, Bobby Skinstad, Goosen, Snyman…..the thing I would be most concerned about is injury. Let’s hope he avoids that jinx.
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Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has explained the reasoning behind Lukhanyo Am’s switch to inside centre and his thinking around including Manie Libbok and Handre Pollard on the bench to face Australia.
Double World Cup winner Am returns to the starting XV for the second Test match against Australia but will be lining up in the Springboks’ number 12 jumper for the first time.
Am is set to earn his 37th Test cap on Saturday having made 34 appearances at 13 and twice came off the bench for South Africa.
Lukhanyo Am’s move to inside centre
However, the shift to inside centre won’t be completely foreign to the midfielder who actually started his professional career playing at 12 before moving out a channel when he joined Sharks.
He comes into the starting line-up in the place of Damian de Allende – who he has partnered in the centres on 28 occasions for the Springboks – and links up with Jesse Kriel for the first time.
Due to Andre Esterhuizen’s suspension following his red card against Portugal, De Allende was the only specialist number 12 in the squad but Erasmus explained that the Bok bruiser had to be rested.
“The first thing is we want to win the Test match and Damian has been playing a lot of minutes and we want to manage guys and keep them fresh,” the Bok boss said.
“Test match level is different but when Lukhanyo started his career he only played 12 and moved to 13 when he joined the Sharks and he has also played wing for us. But he certainly did really well for us when we went down to 14 men against Portugal where he played inside centre.
“We wanted to change the team up but also don’t want to lose momentum in the system and Jesse [Kriel] has been excellent on defence and attack in the 13 channel and Lukhanyo was really good against Portugal.
“To put it plainly, Damian needs the rest not just because of the minutes he has played but also because of how he plays – really physically. We can’t expect him to play 14 Test matches in a row like that.”
More options in the Springboks squad
Another intriguing selection call for Saturday’s match is in on the bench where Erasmus has not only opted for a more traditional 5-3 split in favour of the forwards but has also included two fly-halves in Libbok and Pollard.
It’s the second match in a row that Pollard features from the bench after starting both Tests at fly-half against Ireland in July, but Erasmus revealed that the coaches now consider the double World Cup winner as an option at inside centre – the position he came off the bench in last week.
“Obviously, Andre Esterhuizen is not available and if everything goes to plan then Handre will slot in at 12 because we also have Manie on the bench,” Erasmus added.
“We do see Handre as a possible 12 but then again, Andre will be back in two weeks’ time, but Lukhanyo also looks really comfortable and he gives us another option there.”