POLLARD’S BACK: Bok coach changes it up for must-win second Test against resurgent All Blacks

There was something reassuring in Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’s tone as he explained his selections for the second Test against the All Blacks and his mindset after reviewing the 33-16 first Test loss.

There was no suggestion of panic, only steely resolve to improve and some deep introspection. Erasmus was not playing the blame game with officials, even if some marginal calls went against the Boks. It happens.

The only message that emanated from Erasmus’s lips at the Boks’ Hyde Park base was self-assessment, and a commitment to being better.

Six changes to the match-day squad for the second Test in Cape Town were not all down to what happened at Ellis Park last Saturday.

Wing Cheslin Kolbe and scrumhalf Grant Williams are injured and have been replaced by Ethan Hooker and Morné van den Berg, respectively. Scrumhalf Cobus Reinach is moved into the starting line-up for the second Test.

Flyhalf Handrè Pollard starts ahead of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who is retained on the bench, while wing Kurt-Lee Arendse has come through concussion protocols despite leaving the game early on at Ellis Park last week after his smart gum guard registered a head knock.

Veteran 39-year-old utility forward Deon Fourie is on the bench to cover hooker and flank for his first Test since the Rugby World Cup 2023 final. 

Captain and openside flank Siya Kolisi has been bracketed with Paul de Villiers pending coming through some fitness tests on his hamstring this week. If Kolisi is cleared to play he will start and De Villiers will drop out of the match-day 23 altogether.

Because of the uncertainty over Kolisi, flank Pieter-Steph du Toit has been named captain for this weekend, which coincides with his 100th Test cap.

Loosehead prop Ox Nché will play his 50th Test in another milestone for the Boks.

It’s a clear signal from Erasmus that the Bok starting pack had the measure of New Zealand at Ellis Park, but it was the finishing of the entire team that let them down.

Erasmus was not shy to carry most of the blame for what transpired at Ellis Park, admitting he made some mistakes.

Irritated and frustrated

Nearly 48 hours after the final whistle at Ellis Park Erasmus admitted that he and the team were “irritated and frustrated”.

For once the Boks’ famed Bomb Squad failed to turn the narrative of the game the way of the world champions, as New Zealand dominated the final quarter of the contest.

“I personally made some wrong calls about what we wanted to try inside their 22, and that didn’t work, which is on me,” Erasmus admitted.

“We made 11 entries into their 22 and scored once.

“So, yes, the bench didn’t have an impact. But the guys who started, and us as coaches, didn’t give those guys the platform to actually go on and finish. They had to chase the game because we didn’t take our earlier chances.

“Around the 55th minute we had those three scrums there in the middle in their 22. We got a few penalties and I say it again, we made the wrong call to keep scrumming. We should’ve taken the three points. This is a series and there are no bonus points.”

Erasmus admitted that the All Blacks were effective at making the breakdown messy, which won’t change in Test two. All that can change is how the Boks cope with it.

“We’re just very frustrated with ourselves. We are,” Erasmus said. “They definitely got what they wanted to do right.

“We tried really hard but they stopped us with very good tactics at the breakdown. They contested really well at the breakdown.

“We had dominant carries and we really had some good momentum at times and there were moments when the opportunity was there for us, but then we’d make a stupid error of playing down the blindside, or trying to go with forwards again.

“So, as much as we wanted to try and enforce our way of playing – and I think we did – we mauled well, we scrummed well and I think for 60 minutes we defended well.

“When they got the two, three opportunities, like New Zealand have done in the past, they converted.”

Smarter play

If there is any doubt about how the defeat has stung the Boks, Erasmus clarified the situation with a blunt assessment.

“It’s awful. It’s shit and it’s not nice to be in this position,” he said. “I would rather we play bad and win than play good and lose. 

“The only thing we can do about it now is getting better. As coaches we need to give the guys clearer pictures of what New Zealand do really well. 

“The physicality is going to be like it was last week. Without a doubt, both teams are going to pitch up with the same physicality.

“They didn’t have more opportunities than us. I just think when they actually got them, they scored. So, for us, it’s a mental thing – a mind shift that we must make.

“We don’t need to make a physical mindset change, but we must just be smarter when we’re there, like they were. These are not easy solutions, but we have to find them.”

If Kolisi runs out at Cape Town Stadium, it will be the most experienced Springbok team ever to take the field, with a combined total of 1012 Test caps in the starting XV.

Besides the inclusion of Fourie on the bench, Gerhard Steenekamp and Thomas du Toit are the prop cover, while Lood de Jager (lock) and Cameron Hanekom (looseforward) will join hybrid André Esterhuizen as the replacement forwards. 

All of the players in the match-day squad, with the exception of Fourie – who last wore the green and gold jersey in the 2023 World Cup final – featured in the Boks’ last two Test matches, against Argentina and the All Blacks. 

“The changes we made are in line with what we want to achieve on the field this week,” Erasmus said.

“It is valuable that almost all of the players have been involved in the last two games, so they will be able to cope with the intensity and physicality of this match.

“Handrè has delivered for us under extreme pressure, and we feel that what he and Cobus have the potential to bring at the beginning of the game, and then have Morné and Sacha come on later with their different styles of play, will be good for us this weekend.” DM

Team:

15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Handrè Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), 6 Siya Kolisi/Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Reserves: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 André Esterhuizen, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Morné van den Berg, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.