Springbok Watch: Players in the Spotlight v Ireland

Quintin van Jaarsveld identifies five Springbok players who’ll be in the spotlight in the titanic Test against Six Nations winners Ireland at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Ox Nche

The most explosive loosehead prop in the game has a big role to play in the two-Test series against the Irish.

Nche was one of South Africa’s standouts in their recent season-opening 41-13 win over Wales at Twickenham, dominating the Dragons at scrum time and yet, the Boks didn’t get the full reward they were due from the referee.

As one of the Boks’ best weapons, their scrum stands to deliver physical and psychological blows if Nche and company put it on the visitors and present clear pictures to Luke Pearce, who steps in as referee after Angus Gardner withdrew due to personal reasons last week.

Siya Kolisi

One of the players who were unavailable for the Wales Test, Kolisi returns and does so as captain. There was doubt earlier in the year whether the 33-year-old would continue in the role after his move to Racing 92 after last year’s Rugby World Cup, but Rassie Erasmus has thrown his weight behind Kolisi in headline-grabbing fashion.

The Bok boss came out to bat for his skipper when announcing his 39-man squad for the incoming series last week, hitting back after Kolisi copped criticism from his club president Jacky Lorenzetti. “Kolisi had a remarkable start to the season, where he was a unifier off the field,” the Racing 92 head honcho said.

“The injury layoff was harmful to him. He gained weight, lost shape and yesterday he was transparent. In the back row, we used to have an ultra-present warrior, a warrior called Wenceslas Lauret. For the moment, Siya is not making us forget Wenceslas. But we think that next year, that will change.”

Not afraid to speak his mind, Erasmus made it clear he disagreed with Lorenzetti and confirmed Kolisi’s standing in the national team, saying, “Siya will be captain. Siya will play six flank, and he is fit and has no issues or injury, and Siya is not fat, and Siya is not transparent.”

Kolisi always lifts his game when he dons the Green and Gold and with added motivation to shut up Lorenzetti, the Bok captain’s primed for a big shift.

Kwagga Smith

After a good performance in the No. 6 jersey against Wales, Smith moves back to eighthman at the expense of Evan Roos. The number on his jersey matters little as his main responsibility will be the same – to disrupt the opposition at the breakdown.

Ireland’s game is built on quick ruck-recycling and once they get going, they’re incredibly hard to stop. It’ll be up to the badger-like Smith to slow them down with well-timed, non-stop attacks on the ball.

That could prove to be challenging as he has no substantial support with Malcolm Marx and Marco van Staden starting on the bench. However, Smith’s done the job splendidly in the past and will gladly put his body on the line.

Handre Pollard

Pollard fortifies the Boks tenfold. With him in the saddle, South Africa are at their strongest, most structured and most confident. His game generalship is unmatched and his composure under pressure is legendary.

The 69-Test veteran was conspicuous in his injury-enforced absence the last time the Boks faced Ireland during the pool phase of last year’s World Cup. Manie Libbok wore the No. 10 jersey on the night and was off target with his goal-kicking, as was Faf de Klerk, with the pair collectively leaving 11 points on the field in the 13-8 defeat.

With his dependability off the tee and overall poise, Pollard’s a game-changer.

Damian de Allende

De Allende took a backseat to Andre Esterhuizen against Wales as the latter got a rare starting opportunity. He proved prolific off the pine, winning a key turnover and stamping his authority on the game to show exactly why he’s the Boks’ first-choice No. 12.

Strong and seasoned, he’s a gain line beast and an under-appreciated member of the back-to-back world champions’ backline. Expect him to come up large in this two-Test series as he’s a man for the big occasion and loves confronting the Irish head-on.

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.

Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Quintin van Jaarsveld

Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.