Following the announcement of the Springboks’ matchday 23 to face Argentina in the Rugby Championship, we pick out our winners and losers from Rassie Erasmus’ selections.
South Africa are on the cusp of winning the tournament for the first time since 2019 and require just three points to clinch the trophy, meaning that a win on Saturday will see the Boks return home with the title.
The Boks also have the opportunity to notch up a sixth consecutive victory in the Rugby Championship which would be their longest winning run in the competition’s history (including the Tri-Nations).
Despite the records on the line, Erasmus has opted to make ten changes to his starting XV and allow several players the opportunity to feature in a hostile Test match.
Without further ado, here are our winners and losers from his selections.
Winners
Eben Etzebeth
Arguably the greatest Springboks player of all-time will reach the heights that only Victor Matfield reached in the Green and Gold jersey on Saturday as Eben Etzebeth earns his 127th cap.
Etzebeth has been a regular fixture in the Boks squad since making his Test debut all the way back in 2012 and reaches the milestone in remarkably quick fashion considering the quality of locks that South Africa produces and that he missed an entire year of international rugby in 2020.
There is no doubt that he is a legend of the Green and Gold jumper and on Saturday he takes a massive leap forward in making the record his own and deservedly so.
It’s plain to see that Erasmus purposefully selected Etzebeth on the bench and for this tour purely to allow the Bok great to celebrate breaking the record on home soil and frankly, it shouldn’t be any other way.
Etzebeth is one of the finest players South Africa has ever produced and his longevity and ability to consistently adapt and improve his game has seen him remain one of the best second rowers in the world for over a decade.
Ben-Jason Dixon
Erasmus stated that Ben-Jason Dixon would be back in the Springboks starting for this clash against Argentina after somewhat of a mare against the All Blacks and the head coach has stuck to his word.
Dixon has certainly impressed in 2024 before having an off night against New Zealand at Ellis Park but he is held in high regard in the Boks set-up and it’s easy to see why. He is a hard grafter around the park and has all the s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s required to be a regular in the squad going forward.
The back-rower will be eager to bounce back from his disappointment against the All Blacks and has the perfect opportunity to do just that with a mighty challenge against the world-class Pumas’ back-rowers including the likes of Pablo Matera, Marcos Kremer and Juan Martin Gonzalez.
5 Players retained in the Starting XV
Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje, Jasper Wiese, Handre Pollard and Jesse Kriel are the five players who Erasmus has decided to stick with in his starting XV from the team that defeated the All Blacks last time out.
Some may argue that Nche and Kriel were deserving of rest having featured heavily throughout the year for the Springboks but ultimately, their inclusions are just a testament to how crucial they have become to the Boks’ cause.
As for Nortje, the second rower earns his fourth successive start for the Boks have produced wonderful performances in 2024 to ease South Africa’s locking crisis. He was fantastic in Australia and then in both the Tests against the All Blacks and gets another run in the number five jumper. It’s just reward for the Bulls lock who initially missed out on the squad for the July internationals purely through a selection choice but when the opportunity arose, he did not let it slip.
As for Pollard, the experienced number ten showed his class against Ireland in July before Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was given his chance to shine against Australia and New Zealand. Having reclaimed the number ten jumper for the Test in Cape Town, Pollard earns back-to-back starts and sets his sights on overtaking former teammate Morne Steyn in second place on the all-time scorers’ list for the Boks as he needs just four more points.
Finally, Wiese has been in stunning form since returning from his suspension and will relish the challenge of tackling the Pumas back-five.
7 Rested stars
Erasmus opted to leave seven Springboks in South Africa for the tour to Argentina in order for them to get much-needed rest. Those seven players are: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Damian de Allende, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Frans Malherbe and Bongi Mbonambi.
The septet have all performed well for the Springboks this year and are more than deserving of their off-time, even if they did have train still.
Returning outside backs
Kurt-Lee Arendse, Makazole Mapimpi and Aphelele Fassi all return to the starting XV for the Springboks after missing the second Test match against the All Blacks.
Arendse was sidelined with a concussion that he sustained in the first game while Mapimpi attended the 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 of his 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥. Fassie, meanwhile, was simply rotated out of the squad but makes a welcomed return after starring Down Under and at Ellis Park.
Erasmus is again flexing his depth that he can rotate his entire back-three and still field two World Cup winners and an in-form fullback that is shaking up the position’s pecking order.
Jan-Hendrik Wessels
There is no two ways about the Springboks coaching staff’s feelings towards Jan-Hendrik Wessels – they are fans! The Bulls forward spent most of the URC season as the Pretoria-based side’s third-choice hooker only to be called up to the Boks squad and earn his debut as a prop.
Erasmus loves some versatility and Wessels brings a unique twist that few other international front rowers do. On Saturday, he has been selected as hooker cover for the Boks and does so ahead of his Bulls teammate Johan Grobbelaar who was Jake White’s go-to man in the number two jumper in 2023/24.
Marco van Staden
Finally, Marco van Staden gets his opportunity. The live-wire flanker impressed against the Wallabies and was initially named on the bench to face the All Blacks in Johannesburg only for Etzebeth to prove his fitness. Van Staden subsequently made way for the lock and similar events unfolded a week later when he was primed to start against New Zealand only for Siya Kolisi to be passed fit.
The openside flanker has been in phenomenal nick recently and gets his shot against a team that will really test his capabilities.
Thomas du Toit
After a starring role for Bath in his debut season in the Premiership, many believed that Thomas du Toit would have featured more regularly for South Africa in 2024 than he has so far. Still, he impressed against Portugal and Australia and gets a deserved third cap of the year against Argentina.
Los Pumas fans
Far too often second-string and understrength teams have been sent to Argentina to tackle the Pumas and while the Boks have rested several key stars, this is still very much a mighty team. Argentina fans never fail to create a brilliant atmosphere and Saturday will be no different. Thankfully this time it will be against a Boks team that still features 11 World Cup winners in the starting XV and a further five on the bench.
Manie Libbok
After starting the Springboks’ key World Cup pool matches and the quarter and semi-finals, Manie Libbok has featured in South Africa’s number-ten jumper just once this year.
Libboks’ place-kicking woes have almost certainly been the contributing factor and many predicted that he would start at fly-half and Pollard would shift to the 12 jersey. That may well be the case in the latter stages of the game but for now, Libbok must bide his time on the bench and has to take his shot when it eventually comes.
Johan Grobbelaar
With just two out-and-out hookers named in the squad, many would have understandably predicted that Johan Grobbelaar would have cracked the matchday 23. However, Erasmus is anything but predictable as Grobbelaar misses out entirely.
It’s a real shame for the hooker who has been consistently one of the best locally-based number twos in South Africa and looked to make a good fist of his appearances against Portugal and Australia.
Erasmus and his staff clearly have plans for Grobbelaar going forward but one cannot help but think that perhaps he would have preferred to remain with the Bulls and fight for the Currie Cup title.
Bulls and Lions
Speaking of the Bulls, the men in blue would have loved to have the services of Grobbelaar for their Currie Cup semi-final against the Sharks last weekend.
An epic last-four encounter saw the scoreline finish 40 points apiece after extra time with the Sharks progressing having scored more tries than the Bulls. Would Grobbelaar have made the difference? No one knows for sure.
The same applies to the Lions as scrum-half Morne van den Berg was called up to the Springboks squad following the injury to Grant Williams. While the Lions did book their place in the final of the Currie Cup defeating the Cheetahs, they will be without their livewire halfback for the showpiece at Ellis Park as will be in Santiago carrying tackle bags.
Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg
So far the Montpellier forward has purely been in the Springboks squad for training and analysis purposes. Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg has played just one match for the Springboks and was brought in to ease the lock crisis but he hasn’t got his chance with Nortje shining and Etzebeth chasing the record. Maybe next week Nico.
Grant Williams
Injuries are a cruel reality of professional sport and the timing of Grant Williams’ latest setback could not have been more crueller. The Sharks man has been in stunning form for the Boks this year and showed real character in his start against the All Blacks in Cape Town where he endured a tough first half and turned it around in the second.
He was gathering real momentum on the international stage and may now have to wait until November to get back it.
Canan Moodie
Quite simply a selection call as Canan Moodie will have been in the running for centre, wing and fullback against the Pumas. He started on the wing against the All Blacks in what was his first appearance of the year in Green and Gold but didn’t do enough to usurp the previous performances of Arendse and Mapimpi or Kriel and Fassi to claim a starting role.
With the Boks opting for a 6-2 split, Erasmus then needed fly-half cover which Moodie or any of the starters provided so Libbok was the man who got the nod.
Still, it’s not all doom and gloom, Moodie is bound to rack up a ton of Test caps.
