Springboks going global, taking in three continents, to widen squad depth - while Ireland confine selection to four clubs in one league
Rassie Erasmus has reached across three continents to assemble a 39-player squad for the two tests against Ireland, June 6th in Pretoria and June 13th in Durban.
Rassie Erasmus has reached across three continents to assemble a 39-player squad for the two tests against Ireland, June 6th in Pretoria and June 13th in Durban.
And it is reflected in team selection (see bottom) for the first test this Saturday as there are players from South Africa's URC franchises, England's Premiership, France's Top 14 and Japan One in the starting line-up.
There has never been such a mixed-league selection assembled by the coach of a top-flight rugby nation before.
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A global 'reach', Erasmus's grand vision that must be his travel agent's nightmare.
The Springboks may have started with their home-based compliment from their four URC franchises but they have added players from FOURTEEN different teams playing top-flight rugby abroad.
Consider this: Ireland, with a rule preventing players playing outside Ireland being selected for international rugby, have just their four URC clubs to select from.
Maybe it was just for effect, but Erasmus also placed another 14 players on standby while officially listing a further three as injured.
If it's a race to have numbers playing the game at the highest level, to reach down for in times of crisis, Ireland are trailing by some distance.
Ireland will travel to South Africa with 35 players - that's without Jamison Gibson-Park and Mack Hansen who are listed as injured, Jack Conan excused traveling for personal reasons and Hugo Keenan who is on Ireland Sevens duty.
As it stands, Ireland will be able to take heart from the 13-8 win at RWC 2023 not least as it was backed up by winning the previous two encounters between the two teams 2022 and 2017 in Dublin.
Said Head coach Andy Farrell of Ireland's epic World Cup win in Paris: "How we managed to stay on point mentally was fantastic, how we kept our heads, getting those couple of penalties at the end when it really mattered, is really the big plus side of our performance.
"It was two good teams going at it and not much between them. It's the next step on our journey, it's a pool stage win and that's what it is."
Ireland will real their team on Thursday and will have at least three significant changes to the side that started the RWC pool victory at Stade de France.
Johnny Sexton has retired; Jamison Gibson-Park hasn't travelled because of injury; Hugo Keenan is away on Ireland Sevens duty.
The smart money is on another two changes, both discretionary, Farrell's call and both are backed up by 2024 Six Nations form. Expect Dan Sheehan and Joe McCarthy to start.
Ronan Kelleher had started in Paris, part of the thinking being the six-foot-four hooker was a better scrummager than Dan Sheehan.
That may be, but in calling the tune Ireland were unable to pay the piper at the line-out and the side line set-piece bordered on shambolic for an hour.
Sheehan, on the back of his leadership qualities and not least for his try-scoring feats which is running at 36 in 64 games for Leinster, 10 in 26 games for Ireland, is almost a Farrell talisman - expect him to to be wearing no2.
While it would take a team of wild horse to prevent 2024 Six Nations breakout star Joe McCarthy from starting in the second-row.
Shaping the replacement bench for the singular task of combating the 'Boks specialist - and mush vaunted - Bomb Squad has it's dilemmas.
In the recent past when Ireland have gone six-two on the bench, the notion was Gibson Park, even if starting, covers the two wingers and players such as Jordan Larmour, Robbie Henshaw and Keenan each covered a second position.
Starting Craig Casey and having Murray on the bench might give scrum-half and notional out-half cover and seems to only option for six-two with, say, Frawley as the utility back option.
There is the question of whether or not to place the 36 year-old Cian Healy on the bench given Leinster have been leaving it later and later in games before bringing him in. The absence of Conan makes the use of both James Ryan and Ryan Baird possible.
Springboks XV
15 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 93 caps, 75 pts (15t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 31 caps, 91 points (14t, 3c, 5p)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 67 caps, 80 points (16t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 78 caps, 55 points (11t)
11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 15 caps, 65 points (13t)
10 – Handré Pollard (Leicester Tigers) – 69 caps, 698 points (7t, 96c, 152p, 5dg)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 56 caps, 50 points (5t, 5c, 5pg)
8 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 41 caps, 35 pts (7t)
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) 78 caps, 40 points (8t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Racing 92) – 83 caps, 50 points (10t)
5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 74 caps, 15 points (3t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 120 caps, 30 points (6t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 70 caps, 5 points (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 69 caps, 70 points (14t)
1 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 28 caps, 0 pts
Replacements
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 65 caps, 85 points (17t)
17 – Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 1 cap, 0 points
18 – Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 50 caps, 5 points (1t)
19 – Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers) – 4 caps, 0 points
20 – RG Snyman (Leinster) – 34 caps, 10 points (2t)
21 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 18 caps, 0 pts
22 – Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 9 caps, 10 points (2t)
23 – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers) – 1 cap, 7 points (2c, 1p)
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