Shaun Goosen takes a look at 3 Springboks who will be itching to make an impact against Wales this weekend.
The Springboks get their end-of-year-tour underway in Cardiff against Wales this Saturday, a side that made a habit of beating them towards the backend of Warren Gatland’s reign as Welsh head coach.
Here we select three players who will be itching to make an impact this week.
Herschel Jantjies (No 9)
Since Jantjies exploded onto the international scene in 2019, he has been a mainstay in Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber’s Bok squads. The 25-year-old has mostly been deployed as an impact sub off the bench, with 16 of his 18 caps coming as a replacement: mostly for incumbent Bok No 9 Faf de Klerk. With the Sale Sharks man out with a long-term hip injury, Jantjies has been given a rare shot at showing what he can do from the get-go this week.
Nienaber has often stressed this year that he views de Klerk and Cobus Reinach as like-for-like players, with the latter having started the final British & Irish Lions Test in de Klerk’s absence despite Jantjies benching the first two. He has explained this week that giving players like Herschel (and the rest on this list) more minutes in the driver’s seat is important for the team as they continue to build towards a World Cup title defence in 2023. Facing Wales at the Principality is never an easy thing, and it will be interesting to see what the Stormer can offer on Saturday.
Jesse Kriel (No 14)
Kriel is not everyone’s cup of creatine, but he is unquestionably a rock-solid international. The rise of Lukhanyo Am has seen this Heyneke Meyer and Alistair Coetzee favourite slip down the Bok pecking order over the last few seasons, with the Maritzburg College Old Boy finding game time in the Green and Gold hard to come by in the Erasmus/Nienaber era.
Still, Saturday’s Test will be Kriel’s 49th and the experience and solidity he offers as a fringe player is a coach’s dream. The 27-year-old’s defensive capabilities and physicality in contact will be something the Boks look to utilise at the Principality, albeit from his secondary (arguably tertiary) position on the right wing. Expect a player that doesn’t very often have a bad game to be as dependable as ever.
Damian Willemse (No 15)
The heir apparent to Willie le Roux. Willemse is being groomed to imitate and execute le Roux’s positioning and anticipation as a Test level fullback and this week presents another fantastic opportunity for him to show how far his game has come in these respects. The 23-year-old has always been a flary, X factor-type attacking player, but if he can marry his innate ability with the tactical nous and knowledge of Willie, he could become a world-beater.
Willemse may not be a popular pick at No 15 for some, but producing a quality performance in Cardiff will go a long way to establishing himself as a world-class operator from the back.
