Chronicle EditorCARDIFF. — At least, this time, we don’t know what to expect. That is the glaring ray of light accompanying the Springboks as they go into today’s rugby clash against Wales in Cardiff. The Boks will take to the turf at the Principality Stadium with a fresh looking side that, personnel-wise, has looked to distance itself as much as possible from the disaster in Florence a week ago.
Hopefully, they will shine like a rainbow after the most violent of thunderstorms.
The Boks are fielding a backline that has a combined 40 caps, making them the least experienced backline since 1994, but that fact doesn’t seem daunting at all given the circumstances. The Boks, all of them, have been battered this year to the point where they are barely recognisable.
As a result, there is very little faith in any of the players who have consistently featured throughout the troubled Allister Coetzee era.
New blood provides new possibilities, and anything “new” right now is welcomed when talking about the Springboks
Coetzee, believed to be on the verge of getting the sack, has rolled the dice one last time and there are four uncapped players, and numerous new combinations, in his match-day 23 for the weekend.
The most exciting selection is that of Rohan Janse van Rensburg at No. 12 in place of Damian de Allende.
It is a call-up that sits well with the greater South African rugby public, who have wanted to the 22-year-old on the highest stage for much of the year.
He has his chance this weekend and his inclusion gives the Boks a different feel entirely. — AFP.
Online Reporter