Springboks legend Duane Vermeulen

Duane Vermeulen will have to prove he is still good enough to make Jacques Nienaber’s Rugby World Cup squad. Photo: BackpagePix

Three Bok veterans who face uncertain futures – Mallett

Former Bok coach Nick Mallett believes some big selection decisions lie in await for Duane Vermeulen, Willie le Roux and Frans Steyn.

Springboks legend Duane Vermeulen

Duane Vermeulen will have to prove he is still good enough to make Jacques Nienaber’s Rugby World Cup squad. Photo: BackpagePix

The Bok team currently finds themselves in third place in the latest World Rugby rankings following the conclusion of an up-and-down 2022 Rugby Championship. Tournament winners, the All Blacks, are in fourth.

The 2023 World Cup is now less than a year away, while the Springboks will soon head on a challenging end-of-year tour that is sure to define whether this year can be determined a success or not.

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In his column for Sport24, Mallett said there were some big decision that simply had to be made, particularly referencing the form of players such as Duane Vermeulen, Frans Steyn and Willie le Roux.

“At this stage of their season, it is time for the Springbok management to ask and answer some very tough questions around a couple of players and their potential World Cup participation.

“Willie le Roux is a perennial question mark, and how long will he last? He has good communication skills and flair on attack, but is that good enough to keep his place, or are they going to start looking at a Willemse there permanently? Someone like Cheslin Kolbe also still has to come back and could probably play fullback, as he has all the attributes. 

“Then, looking at the strength of guys like Elrigh Louw and Evan Roos coming through, is it correct to keep Vermeulen at 36 years old because of his experience? Isn’t this the moment you should give a younger guy an opportunity? Already (Jasper) Wiese has stamped his mark there, but if you look at the form of Roos and Louw, they are firing. A younger, fresher guy would give the Boks a little more dynamism… 

“Steyn is another one with an uncertain Bok future. It is not his job to play flyhalf, but he was a bit slow and sluggish this past weekend against Argentina. There are questions around him and whether he will go to the World Cup in France next year, too. That tournament promises to be incredibly testing for the Boks, given that they have New Zealand and France on the same side of the draw and Ireland in their pool. It will be a massive challenge, and time is running out to find the right combinations,” Mallett concluded.

The Bok team will soon head off on the end-of-year tour

Meanwhile, it was recently confirmed that the Boks’ World Cup-winning lock RG Snyman will still be unavailable for the first few rounds of the new URC season, but it now appears that his absence could extend towards the end of the year.

Snyman arrived in Ireland in May 2020 to join Munster following the cancellation of the remainder of the 2019–20 Japan Top League due to Covid-19. The Bok lock then made his debut for Munster in their 27–25 defeat against Leinster on 22 August 2020, though his first appearance for the province lasted only seven minutes after he suffered a torn ACL during a lineout.

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It was the start of plenty of challenging times to come for Snyman, who has been beset with injuries throughout his first stint with Munster, while he was also dramatically involved in a firepit accident last year, with the towering second rower suffering severe burns.

Towards the end of last year, powerful lock underwent knee surgery after re-rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee, with Snyman having managed just four appearances in two years for Munster, while he has largely been unavailable to the Springboks.

In what seemed to be some encouraging news on the injury front, though, Munster recently confirmed there are positive signs in terms of his recovery. Yet, the latest update is not so positive, and it appears highly unlikely that Snyman will be available for the Boks or his club any time soon.

“He’s not quite there yet,” Munster head coach Graham Rowntree commented. “He’s had a very difficult year and we’re not pushing him. All I can say at this point, for the foreseeable, he’s not quite ready yet.”

RG Snyman

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TOP 10 IN THE LATEST WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS:

1. Ireland – 90.03

2. France – 89.41

3. South Africa – 89.00

4. New Zealand – 87.30

5. England – 86.25

6. Scotland – 81.93

7. Wales – 81.28

8. Argentina – 81.21

9. Australia – 80.65

10. Japan – 77.74

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Australia vs Springboks