Rassie Erasmus caught many somewhat by surprise when he named a new-look Springbok team to face Italy this Saturday, particularly when it came to the decision to start Marco van Staden at No 8, while also empowering him to serve as the back up hooker.
Although Van Staden is not a specialist hooker by any means, Erasmus feels he can do a job covering loose forward and hooker, with Johan Grobbelaar expected to play the majority of the match in the No 2 jersey.
However, in an interview with SuperSport, Erasmus said there was a plan to call up a couple more Springbok players on Sunday.
“We will probably fly in two more players, a hooker and a prop, because some players won’t be available (next week), and we need some others to help us with the preparation for the Ireland game (next Saturday),” Erasmus commented.
Springboks to add to their options
When looking at the players on the ‘standby list’, Bongi Mboambi is an experienced hooker who should be called up, while the only other prop is Neethling Fouche after Asenathi Ntlabakanye was added to the squad last week.
Standby list
Forwards: Juarno Augustus (Ulster), Neethling Fouche (Stormers), Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks), Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers), Evan Roos (Stormers), Vincent Tshituka (Sharks).
Backs: Lukhanyo Am (Sharks), Sebastian De Klerk (Bulls), Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks).
Meanwhile, Erasmus admitted that picking Van Staden at No 8 – and as back-up hooker – was a risk.
“Marco is obviously our cover at hooker,” Erasmus explained on Thursday. “He’s starting in another position but he’ll be our hooker cover. We’ve been doing that with Marco for the last five years; in the previous World Cup he played in the front row against Tonga.
“If he gets through this Italy Test well and plays a few minutes at hooker, that’s another box ticked. But it might also backfire on us, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll have to make another plan.
“Marco’s one of the fittest guys in our team. There’s definitely a risk, but we’re rolling the dice,” he said. “He might play 60 minutes at No 8 and 20 at hooker. We’ve played him there before, and he’s worked hard on his throwing. He’ll make a few mistakes, but we want to see if he can deal with it.
“It’s exactly like going with a 7-1 or 6-2 split – you gamble, and sometimes it can make the game very close if things don’t go your way. But we also want to accommodate Marco because he plays behind Siya [Kolisi]. He’s brilliant at the breakdown and with ball in hand – that’s why we want him involved.”
