Painful exist rest in peace sa rugby head coach announces death of 2 key players who died in car crash due to…….
Klerk earned his 58th cap for the Boks in the series decider against Ireland where he sustained a concussion and while it is not yet clear what has sidelined the scrum-half, he will miss at least the opening two games of the competition Down Under.
With that in mind, we take a look at the options Erasmus does have at his disposal and predict who will take over as the starter against Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies.
Morne van den Berg – The like-for-like replacement
Surprisingly the Springboks have gone for the exact squad size of a Rugby World Cup team and while they took four number nines with them to France, just three head to Australia.
Included in the trio is Lions star and newly capped Springboks scrum-half Morne van den Berg aka ‘Krappies’. Van den Berg caught the attention of the Bok coaching staff with his performances in the URC, earning a maiden call-up and Test debut against Portugal. Had de Klerk been fit, it is likely that Van den Berg would have been the man to miss the flight to Australia but in his absence, he could well be starting.
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Rassie Erasmus names powerful Springboks squad with one surprise for Rugby Championship
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Springboks squad winners and losers as Rassie Erasmus shocks with back-row calls and fresh snubs
Springboks squad winners and losers as Rassie Erasmus shocks with back-row calls and fresh snubs
Erasmus has three great options at his disposal when selecting his replacement number nine but in the case of Van den Berg, he is nigh on a carbon copy of de Klerk highlighted by the nickname bestowed upon him by Lions fans’ ‘Faf lite’.Content continues belowAd
The Springboks are clearly looking to blood in new talent and build towards the next World Cup and at the age of 26, Van den Berg is in the perfect age bracket to be in his prime when the tournament rolls around – now he needs the exposure to international rugby.
He is certainly in the running for a starting role and has got rave reviews from the coaching staff in press conferences but will that be enough to move ahead of two World Cup winners in the pecking order?
Rassie Erasmus names powerful Springboks squad with one surprise for Rugby Championship
Grant Williams – The front-runner
After coming on as De Klerk’s replacement in the Springboks’ first three Tests of the year, Grant Williams was rested for the fourth game against Portugal having already laid down