Faf de Klerk to cover flyhalf, goal-kicking for Boks

Handre Pollard, Johan Goosen and Damian Willemse are all on the injured list for the Boks, and with depth at flyhalf seriously tested, Frans Steyn will now start his first Test in the No 10 jersey since 2008.

BREAKING: FRANS STEYN TO MAKE RARE TEST START AT FLYHALF

It’s a tricky situation for the Boks to be in, with Elton Jantjies currently still unavailable after he was given time off to deal with reports of an alleged affair.

With increasingly limited options, the Springboks have also reverted to a six-two forwards-to-backs split on the bench, with Faf de Klerk and Kurt-Lee Arendse among the ‘bomb squad’.

Notably, there is no specialist cover at flyhalf should Frans Steyn suffer an early injury, and although Willie le Roux could feasibly fill in, it’s been confirmed that scrumhalf Faf de Klerk will also in fact cover at 10.

By the looks of it, considering there is no other goal-kicking option beyond Steyn, De Klerk will presumably also be the back-up goal kicker – something he has done previously for former club Sale Sharks.

Meanwhile, coach Jacques Nienaber has now explained why they didn’t want to rush Jantjies back despite the lack of specialist options at flyhalf.

“It would have been nice, but for us and the sensitivity that is needed to deal with mental health issues and the external pressures he needs to deal with from a human perspective, it would have been unfair to get him back in the team,” Nienaber said, as quoted by Sport24.

“There would be a lot of external pressure on him and for us, the individual as a human being comes first.

“(Frans Steyn) has played 10 for the Cheetahs in the Currie Cup and he’s also trained a lot at 10 for us,” Nienaber said. “The same is applicable to Faf (de Klerk), who is also covering flyhalf and I guess when you lose a couple of 10s, that’s where you sit. Frans covers the same positions as Damian, but with 10 years of more experience.”

STANDINGS: WHAT BOKS NEED TO WIN RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

The Boks team to face Argentina in Durban:

15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 78 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – 2 caps, 5pts (1t)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 55 caps, 60 pts (12t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 65 caps, 45 pts, (9t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 32 caps, 110 pts (22t)
10 – Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs) – 77 caps, 156 pts (11t, 10c, 24p, 3d)
9 – Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks) – 9 caps, 10 pts (2t)

8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 17 caps, 0 pts
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 63 caps, 15 pts (3t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 70 caps, 35 pts (7t)
5 – Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 63 caps, 25 pts (5t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks) – 105 caps, 15 pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 53 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 54 caps, 65 pts (13t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 66 caps, 5 pts (1t)

Replacements:

16 – Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks) – 51 caps, 55 pts (11t)
17 – Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks) – 14 caps, 0 pts
18 – Vincent Koch (Wasps) – 36 caps, 0 pts
19 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 58 caps, 10 pts (2t)
20 – Duane Vermeulen (Ulster) – 64 caps, 15 pts (3t)
21 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 26 caps, 15 pts (3t)
22 – Faf de Klerk (Yokohama Canon Eagles) – 41 caps, 25 pts (5t)
23 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 2 caps, 5 pts (1t)

VIDEO: HOW BOKS RESPONDED TO LATEST EXPLOSIVE REPORTS

STATS & FACTS

Springbok record against Argentina in South Africa:
Played 15, Won 14, Lost 1; Points for 550, Points against 272, Average score 37-17; Tries scored 65, Tries conceded 25; Highest score 73, Biggest win 60 pts (73-13), Win % 93%

Springbok record at Hollywoodbets Kings Park (overall):
Played 34, Won 21, Lost 10, Drawn 3; Points for 835; Points against 601; Tries for 87; Tries against: 59.

Springbok team records at Hollywoodbets Kings Park:
Biggest win: 101-0 v Italy on 19 June 1999
Most tries: 15 v Italy on 19 June 1999
Most conversions: 13 v Italy on 19 June 1999
Most penalty goals: 8 v New Zealand on 1 August 2009
Most drop goals: 3 v South America on 3 May 1980 and v Ireland on 6 June 1981

Milestones:

• Eben Etzebeth will extend his run as the most capped Springbok player against Argentina with this match marking his 19^th Test against Los Pumas from 2012 to 2022.
• Following his two tries last weekend, Malcolm Marx is now the Springbok hooker with the most Test tries – 13. Bongi Mbonambi is second on the list with 11 Test tries.

Miscellaneous:

• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 809.
• There are 318 caps in the backline with 491 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are a further 292
• The average caps per player in the backline are 46, the forwards 59, while the players on the bench average 36.