Springboks accused of being ‘morally’ corrupt with 7-1 bench

Earlier this week, coach Jacques Nienaber made 13 personnel changes and a positional switch as well naming a seven-one split in favour of the forwards on the replacements’ bench for the Springboks’ third Rugby World Cup pool encounter against Ireland.

It has been a big talking point in rugby circles, and divided opinion on many fronts.

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Former Scotland coach Matt Williams has been an outspoken critic, and again launched into a tirade on the Virgin Media TV Rugby Podcast.

“Why am I saying I am totally against this South Africa bench?” Williams said. “Is it legal? Yes. Is it smart rugby for the World Cup? I’ve got to say yes. Is it good tactics? Yes. But it is not morally correct.

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“What I’m saying is that if lower levels of the game copy the Springboks, and they will, there are props and second rowers playing in lower levels of the game. If they are fatigued and the opposition bring on seven fresh forwards and they go for a scrum later on in the game knowing they could get a penalty and win the game, those guys’ spines are in danger. I will not be quiet, because I’ve seen it. All of us that have seen it first hand have a responsibility to remind the next generation to not go back there.

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“I have great admiration for the Springboks, I admire them as a rugby nation, they’re one of the greatest in the world alongside New Zealand. This is not right for the game. It might be right for a Test match, it might be right for them to beat Ireland. I’m not worried about the health of the Irish players. I’m deeply, deeply concerned that at the lower levels of the game that this will be copied.”

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Nienaber’s seven-one bench will see Deon Fourie continue as hooker, while Ox Nche and Trevor Nyakane will provide prop reinforcements with the Munster lock duo of Jean Kleyn and RG Snyman paired on the bench along with loose forwards Marco van Staden and the versatile Kwagga Smith, who can cover wing as well thanks to his Springboks Sevens’ experience.

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Nienaber has now explained in further detail why the Springboks went this route.

“In the New Zealand game (earlier this year), it (the 7-1 bench) was forced on us, but if you look back at the New Zealand game in Mbombela (in 2022), we had a six-one split because De Klerk was injured very early,” Nienaber said.

“I said before the press conference that a seven-one split is only one less than a six-two and, in the Mbombela game, we played with a six-one split after De Klerk’s injury.

“There is risk, yes, but it’s calculated in our opinion, but we also analysed Ireland and, after looking at them, what they bring and what we’ll need in their specific game while trying to counter what they do, that’s the reason we went to seven-one. New Zealand and Ireland aren’t similar with how they do things, it’s for this specific game.”

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SPRINGBOKS TEAM TO FACE IRELAND IN PARIS:

15 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 35 caps, 56 pts (4t, 9c, 4pg, 2dg)
14 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 11 caps, 60 pts (12t)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 63 caps, 70 pts (14t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 74 caps, 50 pts (10t)
11 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 27 caps, 81 pts (12t, 3c, 5pg)
10 – Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) – 10 caps, 71 pts (1t, 21c, 8pg)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 51 caps, 50 pts (5t, 5c, 5pg)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 24 caps, 5 pts (1t)
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 72 caps, 40 pts (8t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Racing 92) – 78 caps, 50 pts (10t)
5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 68 caps, 15 pts (3t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 114 caps, 25 pts (5t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 65 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 64 caps, 65 pts (13t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (Ulster) – 78 caps, 10 pts (2t)
Replacements:
16 – Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers) – 8 caps, 5 pts (1t)
17 – Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – 23 caps, 0 pts
18 – Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92) – 64 caps, 5 pts (1t)
19 – Jean Kleyn (Munster) – 5 caps, 0 pts (Ireland 5 caps)
20 – RG Snyman (Munster) – 30 caps, 5 pts (1t)
21 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 16 caps, 0 pts
22 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 35 caps, 30 pts (6t)
23 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 28 caps, 60 pts (12t)

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STATS AND FACTS:

Springbok record against Ireland:

Played 27, Won 18, Lost 8, Drawn 1. Points for: 522; Points against: 399. Tries scored: 71; Tries conceded: 37. Highest score: 38; Biggest win: 38 points (38-0). Average score: 19-15. Win %: 66,7%.

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Milestones:

• Springbok wing Kurt-Lee Arendse will start the match with an impressive try-scoring record of 12 tries in 11 Tests.
• Springbok centre Damian de Allende will reach the 75 Test mark when he takes the field on Saturday.
• Saturday’s match will be the first time the Springboks and Ireland clash at a Rugby World Cup, making it the first Test between the two sides at a neutral venue.
• Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Steven Kitshoff, Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi, Faf de Klerk and Damian de Allende are the only players left from the last time the Boks beat Ireland – on 25 June 2016, in Nelson Mandela Bay.
• Kitshoff and Mbonambi made their Springbok debuts in the same match against Ireland seven years ago, while De Klerk and Mostert debuted earlier in that series against the Irish.
• Replacement forwards Jean Kleyn, RG Snyman and Marco van Staden will face Ireland for the first time.
• The Springboks have won their last seven Tests in the French capital. Their last defeat in the city was in 2005 by France (20-26).

ALSO READ: What Springboks told Dweba after World Cup call-up ‘snub’

Miscellaneous:

• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 833.
• There are 271 caps in the backline, with 562 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 208 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 38, the forwards 70, while the players on the bench average 26.