It is ridiculous there won’t be a deciding Test but there is one saving grace in the fact that the Springboks and Ireland won’t be doing battle again next week as the two brutal clashes that were played in the series did exact a high attrition rate.
In Pretoria it was Ireland who suffered, with scrumhalf Craig Casey being stretchered off with concussion and hooker Dan Sheehan being ruled out with a serious ligament injury. In Sheehan’s case his absence from the field is likely to be long term, and there are concerns that Bok hooker Malcolm Marx may also be sidelined with the injury sustained in Caelan Doris’ illegal clean-out.
There was blood from the early minutes of the Kings Park game, most of it on the Boks’ side, and the hosts were disrupted by the injury that caused Willie le Roux play just the first two minutes. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is a fine player with immense promise but he does bring a different angle to his play than Le Roux does in connecting the Bok attack.
Perhaps that, with them just not having the momentum they had in Pretoria, played a role in the Boks being unable to continue the move towards a wider ball-in-hand approach in Durban.
And if that was the case there’s something for Rassie Erasmus to think about — if attack with the backs playing key roles will be a feature in future, the six/two split between forwards and backs needs to be rethought.
With Kolbe and Arendse space needs to be created but with Moodie that isn’t always necessary
With Feinberg-Mngomezulu out of necessity going on so early, the Boks were without a backup flyhalf for 77 minutes. Handré Pollard contributed all 24 points the Boks scored from his boot, but he did not have a good game in general play and doesn’t look comfortable in playing the more direct style being asked of him.
Proving impregnable
Pollard was brilliant at the gainline early in his career but sadly that strength was either coached out of him or he lost the appetite for it due to the serious injuries that have ruled him out for lengthy periods. Whatever the reason, he doesn’t suit it now, and had Manie Libbok been in the match day squad, he would almost certainly have added considerably to the Bok attacking potency.
The Irish only scored one try but the Boks seldom looked like they would get over the opposition line. It was quickly evident that just like in Pretoria they weren’t going to get any profit from the old staple of the driving maul, with Ireland proving impregnable from attacking line-outs across the 160 minutes that the series was played.
Obviously if Libbok had come on the placekicking would have become a concern, but not necessarily with Feinberg-Mngomezulu at fullback. The youngster is a gifted, reliable kicker from the tee, as he showed in slotting his first yet kick in a Bok jersey from inside his own half just minutes after coming onto the field against Wales at Twickenham.
Attack coach Tony Brown has spoken about Pollard being a work in progress and gave the impression he is a pet project, but there does need to be focus on the flyhalf position and who is most suitable for the role of unlocking the Bok attacking potential. Libbok was outstanding for much of last season, while Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s arrival as the go-to man at flyhalf is probably a question of when rather than if.
Body strength
It’s not the only position at the back that should be scrutinised, and while this may surprise people given the huge reputation of Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe, wing is one of them. Canan Moodie will probably get a chance against Portugal this week and his height and size should make him an alternative for one of the smaller wings once the Rugby Championship games against Australia and New Zealand come into view.
Both wings punch above their weight regarding physicality but apart from the obvious advantage of having a taller player there to compete for cross kicks and combat opposition cross kicks, there were also times in the Durban game when the Bok attacks were crying out for someone bulkier out wide who could engage two or three defenders through body strength.
With Kolbe and Arendse space needs to be created but with Moodie that isn’t always necessary. Kolbe and Arendse are devastating on the kick-and-chase and feeding off opposition mistakes, as we saw from Kolbe at Loftus, but the more structured wide attack might require one big wing. One smaller wing can be carried, but not two, at least not if a bigger player is available.
Moodie scored a stunning individualistic try running onto a kick and winning it in the air in his first Test appearance against Australia and the potential for the Bulls wing to repeat that should bring him into the reckoning.
We’re hearing that Damian Willemse is recovering well from his injury, which is good news as a back three of Willemse, Moodie and Arendse/Kolbe would be strong defensively and offensively.
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