Six toughest World Cup selections Springboks had to make
With the Springboks’ World Cup squad soon set to be revealed, we take a look at six of the most challenging selection decisions.
By now, the Springboks’ squad will have been informed of the World Cup selections, while this 33-man group will be publicly unveiled at a special event at 3pm on Tuesday afternoon.
With this in mind, we take a look at six of the toughest selections decisions that would have been made.
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Canan Moodie in, Makazole Mapimpi out?
The general consensus is that Moodie booked his ticket to France with a top performance against Argentina last weekend. If the Springbok coaches opt to take just three specialist wings to the World Cup, the fall out could mean Mapimpi misses the cut. Making this decision or determining if there is space for both would have been a real selection headache.
Space for Andre Esterhuizen?
Do the Springboks have the luxury of picking a specialist inside centre in addition to Damian de Allende? This is the big question they would have had to answer, and which became even more tricky after Esterhuizen impressed in both of his appearances in 2023.
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Cutting the scrumhalf list to just three
Faf de Klerk, Herschel Jantjies, Cobus Reinach, Grant Williams, Jaden Hendrikse… All five of these players would be more than capable of doing a good job at the World Cup, with the Springboks incredibly blessed with depth at halfback, but ultimately there will only be space for three.
Does Deon Fourie or Marco van Staden make the cut?
With Siya Kolisi nursing a knee injury, who will add depth at openside flank? Is there space for Fourie or Van Staden to earn inclusion, or will the Springboks simply back Kwagga Smith to provide cover? Let’s wait and see.
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Second row conundrum
There have been lots of question marks at lock. Franco Mostert has primarily been deployed as a flank, Lood de Jager has lacked game time, RG Snyman has produced an impressive comeback, Jean Kleyn has made his mark and Marvin Orie is also on the fringes. Ultimately, not everyone can crack the nod, so expect a disappointed face or two here.
Thomas du Toit or Trevor Nyakane?
When it comes to the value of a ‘swing’ prop who can cover loosehead and tighthead, it’s likely that the Springbok coaches would have to choose between Du Toit or Nyakane. There is very little that separates the duo, and so this would have been another challenging selection as it’s unlikely both can be accommodated.
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SPRINGBOKS’ WORLD CUP FIXTURES:
Sunday, 10 September – Boks v Scotland (Stade Velodrome, Marseille)
Sunday, 17 September – Boks v Romania (Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Saturday, 23 September – Boks v Ireland (Stade de France, Paris)
Sunday, 1 October – Boks v Tonga (Stade Velodrome, Marseille)
Weekend of 14/15 October – Quarter-finals
Weekend of 21/22 October – Semi-finals
Saturday, 28 October – Final