Springbok Watch: Players in the Spotlight v Australia

Quintin van Jaarsveld identifies five Springbok players who’ll be in the spotlight in Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash against the Wallabies in Perth.

Jan-Hendrik Wessels

Wessels enjoyed a solid debut in the 64-21 win over Portugal in Bloemfontein last month in which he scrummed well, got around the park and scored a try.

Now he’s set for his first true test at international level as he goes head-to-head with Australian captain Allan Alaalatoa, who’s seeking redemption and to lead from the front after being decimated by Ox Nche.

The Bulls front-rower has big boots to fill, especially given he’s played most of his franchise rugby at hooker and that, at 23, he’s very young to go up against grizzled Test veterans, but Rassie Erasmus has faith in the prodigy, and it’ll be interesting to see how he fronts up.

Ruan Nortje

Nortje’s patience will finally pay off when he makes his first start for the Boks at Opus Stadium. It comes after the Bulls lock missed a chance to replace an injured RG Snyman last weekend due to a knee niggle and two years after making his Test debut off the bench in the 13-12 loss to Wales in Bloemfontein.

Arguably no player has been more consistently top-class since that disastrous Test in the City of Roses than Nortje, the United Rugby Championship’s inaugural Ironman, who’s gone from strength to strength and developed into a next-generation leader for his franchise.

He’ll bring effort in abundance, but he’ll also look to prove he can make the physical step up to Test rugby.

Marco van Staden

Debuting for his country off the pine in the 34-21 win over the Pumas in Durban back in 2018, Van Staden will make just his fourth start in what will be his 22nd Test with double World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi being rested along with Frans Malherbe, Gerhard Steenekamp, Bongi Mbonambi, Cobus Reinach, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende and Willie le Roux.

“Eskom” is a compact, explosive and hard-nosed grafter and a proven poacher at the breakdown, yet, he’s somewhat of an odd man out in the back-row stocks. At 28, he’s not a decorated Test star like veterans Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kwagga Smith nor a rising star such as Evan Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon and Phepsi Buthelezi.

Thus, he needs to maximise every opportunity he gets to show his worth, especially a rare run-on chance.  

Morne van den Berg

Like Wessels, Van den Berg made his Bok bow against Portugal and like Nortje, he’s set to make his first Test start.

The Lions livewire is known for his speed and attacking prowess and his combination with fellow young gun Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is mightily exciting and may well be a glimpse into the Boks’ future.

That said, his kicking game is underrated, so whilst he’ll go out to shift the South African attack into high gear, he’ll also be keen to prove he can execute with the boot when required.

Aphelele Fassi

“The Weekend Special” lines up for his fifth Test appearance and third of the season after starting at fullback in the wins over Wales and Os Lobos.

One of the players on the fringes, Fassi has to strike a balance of fitting into the Bok game plan without trying too hard and making costly mistakes.

It’s great to see a player work his way back into the national squad like Fassi has and one can’t help but root for him to seize the day and ensure he earns more opportunities in the future.  

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.