Boks can't afford to leave out Pieter-Steph

Springbok coach Allister Coetzee will be under great pressure to make room for in-form Stormers lock Pieter-Steph du Toit as the Boks try to get their Rugby Championship campaign back on track.

JOHANNESBURG: Springbok coach Allister Coetzee will be under great pressure to make room for in-form Stormers lock Pieter-Steph du Toit as the Boks try to get their Rugby Championship campaign back on track.

While the burning issue on who should become the next Springbok captain in the aftermath of Adriaan Strauss’ resignation last week rages on, Coetzee will have to make tough choices when it comes to the locks and loose fowards for Saturday’s clash against Australia in Brisbane. (Kick off 12.05pm)

Eben Etzebeth remains the best No 4 lock in the country and while his performances of late have been below his usual standards, he is still a vital cog in the Springboks machinery when it comes to raising the ante in the physical stakes.

But Lood de Jager has so far struggled to recapture the form which made him the SA Player of the Year last season. His Super Rugby season was also curtailed by injuries.

Coetzee has to start with Du Toit not only because the towering former Junior Springbok has partnered Etzebeth for the whole year in Super Rugby but because his form justifies a start ahead of the struggling De Jager.

Du Toit is solid in the lineouts but his biggest asset is his capabilities with ball in hand and his high work-rate, crucial elements, which the Springboks have been lacking in their five Tests under Coetzee.

The energy which Du Toit has been able to inject into the side when coming off the bench has been tangible, while he hardly put a foot wrong in the two Tests he started against Ireland.

Coetzee will also have to face up to the fact that one of his trusted generals, flank Francois Louw is also struggling with form and should make way for the hard running Jaco Kriel. Louw’s continued presence in the Springbok starting team is doing more harm than good to a player who has stood tall in the past four years.

Louw can no longer keep up to speed with the pace of the game, nor be a disruptive force at the breakdowns and at 31 years of age is highly unlikely to be in the reckoning for the World Cup in three years’ time.

Kriel, on the other hand, has shown consistently in Super Rugby that he is among the best openside flanks in the game and has removed any doubts of his capabilities at international level with his robust and tireless toil when coming off the bench.

With Kriel in the starting line-up against the Wallabies, it will be a seamless transition among the loose forwards with No 8 Warren Whiteley having played all of his rugby with Kriel at the Lions while blindside flank Oupa Mohoje has put in commendable performances in the past two Tests to warrant him running out in the No 7 jersey.

Beyond being competitive on the ground, Kriel possesses explosive speed which is a handy asset to have when punching holes into opposition defences and carrying the ball into spaces, which the Springboks are so desperate to do.

The sensible thing to do for Coetzee now is to untangle himself from his loyalty to certain players. He must select on form and not reputation if the Springboks are to be competitive enough against the Wallabies and All Blacks.

Coetzee’s selections this week could make or break his team as they face a Wallabies side that have their backs firmly against the wall on the back of six consecutive defeats, with their last win coming last year in the semi-final of the Rugby World Cup.