Dramatic fortnight of Springbok action against Australia has produced winners and losers

The Springboks have concluded a fiercely fought two-match series with the Wallabies, losing one and winning the other. Over the course of the dramatic fortnight, some players fared better than others. Here are five winners and losers.

Handré Pollard

We understand that Rassie Erasmus’s long-term plan is to build quality depth in each position with a view to defending the World Cup in 2027. That is why the man who contributed so vitally to winning the 2023 edition has not seen much action this year. But after the Boks lost the first Test to the Wallabies, the ice-cool Pollard was restored at fly-half and looked a million dollars.

Manie Libbok

The corollary to Pollard’s near-flawless performance is that Manie Libbok (and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to a degree) are pushed down the fly-half pecking order. Libbok was made the scapegoat for the Bok loss at Ellis Park and, while Erasmus said he should have been given more support, he was too erratic to be the first-choice No 10.

Jean-Luc du Preez

The burly loose forward had to pull out of the game because of illness. He would have been devastated to lose a golden opportunity to state his case as a starting No 8. During the week, he spoke about how much this chance had meant to him, because he had almost given up on his Springbok dream after last starting in 2018.

Ox Nché

Last week, a wounded Nché said he took the loss to the Wallabies personally. It was clear from the first whistle that the loosehead prop was taking no prisoners. He soon won a penalty at scrum time for Pollard to guide over. He was playing so well that he stayed on deep into the game. At a crucial point in the second half, he disrupted Tate McDermott at the back of a maul to force an important turnover.

Aphelele Fassi

The Sharks full-back will not look back on the last two weeks with much affection. These two games were his opportunity to nail down the No 15 jersey, but that has not happened. Fassi has been too erratic — he does good things only to offset them with mistakes, such as over-cooking kicks that go out on the full. A Springbok full-back needs to deliver consistently safe and polished performances.

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