By Brenden Nel.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber admitted that the selection of the team to face Wales in the first test of the Castle Lager Incoming Tour was probably his toughest yet.
Nienaber surprised with Damian Willemse at fullback and Elton Jantjies at flyhalf, while there will be debuts from Elrigh Louw and Salmaan Moerat off the bench in a team selection which will have the Bok fans talking about who is in – and who isn’t – in the match 23.
Nienaber did say that there is a specific plan for each player and the Bok coach knows that with the weight of expectation on his shoulders, and the dominant performances in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, he was never going to satisfy everyone.
But what he wanted fans to understand was that there was a bigger plan and no matter who he was going to select, someone would have been disappointed.
“I said it last week, if you look at the 42 guys, all 42 were selected on form. They were in form when we did their road maps so it was a tough team selection in terms of getting to a 23. We had this plan on what we are trying to achieve within the six weeks,” Nienaber explained.
“We ticked a couple of boxes. Fortunately some guys went on and played in the URC final – fortunate for them to get an opportunity like that, but on our side we didn’t have coaching time with them and now we are in this three-week test block with Wales.
“It was a tough team selection. You could have selected other guys and they wouldn’t have dropped the team. Hopefully if things go according to plan, we will see them in the near future operating for the Boks.”
Nienaber hinted that, if things go well in the first test, he would consider blooding more players in the second and third tests and his aim was to try and give the entire group exposure somewhere in the international season.
With the World Cup a year away now, the Boks will want to try out combinations and know that they have little time to do this.
The balancing act between momentum and exposure for some players is a critical one and while not everyone that is a fan favourite was selected, the Bok coach believes there will be time for them to get their chance in the Green and Gold jersey.
“If we can get test exposure for all 42 it would be awesome. If you probably ask what is our platinum plan it will probably be that. But there is a massive responsibility on the 23 guys selected for this week to obviously lay a foundation and to make sure there is performance. If there is not performance we will have to change our plans,” he added.
“Ultimately if we can, if it is possible and if performance allows it, it will be perfect to give exposure to all 42 guys.”
But for that to happen, the Boks need to win their tests against Wales. Saturday will be tougher than many would predict, mainly because Wales have a seasoned starting XV at their disposal and the Bok team selected is a mixture of players who haven’t played for a while and those with bright futures, as well as a few old heads.
Nienaber is likely to follow a similar path in other games, although all that depends on the success at a sold-out Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.