Here are five Bok ‘big boys’ who can swing the game this weekend and help South Africa clinch the Series.
Johannesburg – With the Test series coming down to the third and final clash, both the Springboks and Wales are going to mean business on Saturday.
The two sides will battle it out in the Series-deciding Test at Cape Town Stadium after the hosts came out on top in the opener, and the Dragons returning the favour in the second Test as they won their first game ever on South African soil.
The Boks named a much-changed side for what they are treating as a ‘final’, reverting to the side that got the job done in Johannesburg in the first Test.
Here are five Bok ‘big boys’ who can swing the game this weekend and help South Africa clinch the Series.
Eben Etzebeth
The second-row behemoth will become the youngest-ever Springbok centurion when he takes the field on Saturday, and if that’s not reason enough to expect a monster of a performance from him, then I don’t know what is.
The Boks will need to come at the Welsh hard in terms of physicality this weekend, after all, it’s not an area where the opposition will back down, and if there’ one man who can add to the Boks’ physical grit, it’s the 30-year-old Etzebeth.
🏉 Boks make 11 changes for #CastleIncomingSeries decider against Wales as @EbenEtzebeth and @BongiMbonambi reach special milestones in Cape Town – team announcement: https://t.co/Taxb7WEVH4#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever pic.twitter.com/QDGsNROWE2
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 12, 2022
Siya Kolisi
The Springbok skipper resumes his captaincy duties this week after flyhalf Handré Pollard wore the armband in Bloem last week, and his leadership and presence will be most welcome.
Kolisi’s experience is something that’s certainly going to be needed this weekend, especially under this kind of pressure and with so much hanging in the balance.
Handré Pollard
The Boks’ first choice No.10 wasn’t at his best in the second Test, and he’ll no doubt be one of the guys looking to make a step-up this weekend.
Last weekend, he seemed to struggle in the driving seat, and he’ll need to be a proper general in the decider, while hitting his target off the tee will also be crucial.
We all know how he can perform, he just needs to put out a reminder in Cape Town.
Trevor Nyakane and Frans Malherbe
The swinger might be on the other side of the scrum on Saturday, but the objective remains the same for Trevor Nyakane – dominance. And the same applies to scrum anchor Frans Malherbe.
Things can get pretty tough during scrummaging on that Cape Town Stadium pitch, so passing that test will be a box to tick all on its own.
They will also, of course, be heavily influential in how the pack goes as a unit.
