Rugby
Springbok Watch: Players in the Spotlight v Japan
Quintin van Jaarsveld identifies five Springbok players who’ll be in the spotlight in Saturday’s end-of-year tour opener against Japan at Wembley Stadium.
Zachary Porthen
The bolter in the year-end squad, the 21-year-old will make his Springbok debut on Saturday and will become the youngest Bok prop in the professional era in the process.
Porthen is a blue-chipper and a former Junior Springbok captain. He was seemingly destined to play for the Boks but injuries and Asenathi Ntlabakanye’s doping saga have seen him being fast-tracked into the team.
Those who know him say he has composure beyond his years and he’ll need that when he makes his Bok bow just months after making his senior debut for the Stormers.
Big and athletic, he has a bright future, and according to Rassie Erasmus, the future is now.
Lood de Jager
A stalwart who shores up the second row, De Jager is set to return from the injury he sustained in the record 43-10 win over the All Blacks in Wellington in September.
A consistent colossus, the 71-cap veteran is a banker – a world-class campaigner who rarely, if ever, has an indifferent outing. With him calling the shots in the lineout at No. 5, the set piece generally runs smoothly and serves as an ideal attacking launch pad.
As someone who plies his trade in Japan, the Wild Knights ace will be familiar with many of the Brave Blossoms players, which could lead to him causing havoc on their throw-in.
Franco Mostert
It’s been a tough year for Mostert. The hard-grafting utility forward recently lost his mother and hasn’t played for the Boks since the 30-22 win over the Wallabies in Cape Town in August.
“Sous” isn’t one for headlines. He’s been one of South Africa’s unsung heroes for years, doing the unglamorous work that’s so vital yet largely goes unseen. His return, at blindside flank, has been kept low-key, but is significant in the overall make-up of the Green and Gold machine.
Ruan Nortje is the only other player in the current squad capable of covering lock and No. 7, but with him thriving in the engine room, it would be unwise to move him. Given the mountain of work Pieter-Steph du Toit went through in the Rugby Championship, he deserves a rest, and Mostert is the right man to fill that void while also getting back in the swing of things.
Kurt-Lee Arendse
A prolific try-scorer, Arendse dotted down in each of his three Bok appearances this season.
The pint-sized predator struck against Italy at Loftus Versfeld, Georgia at Mbombela Stadium, and Australia at Ellis Park before he was stopped in his tracks through injury.
The bullet train, who’s racked up 21 tries in 27 Tests, is now back on the tracks and eager to carry on where he left off. This is his first outing against Japan, and odds are he’ll light it up in London.
Cheslin Kolbe
Porthen’s selection was headline news, but the other major selection was that of Kolbe at fullback instead of his usual position out on the wing.
With Aphelele Fassi and Damian Willemse injured and deemed Willie le Roux surplus to requirements, the reigning South African Player of the Year will don the Bok No. 15 jersey for just the second time in his 46-Test career.
Kolbe is renowned for his attacking genius, and many South African rugby lovers are unaware of or don’t fully grasp how tactically sound he is, nor how effective his kicking game is.
He showcased this during his time in France, in particular, and this may well prove to be the start of his next chapter with the Boks, where he cooks with even more time on the ball and demonstrates his tactical nous.