Rassie picks Libbok at flyhalf to counter England’s expected strategy of opening up Test

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus believes Manie Libbok at flyhalf will be the perfect remedy for when England, as he predicts, opens up their Nations Championship Test at Ellis Park on Saturday.

But the No 10 is not there to launch wild attacks, the coach added as he explained his team which, unusually, doesn’t pack the usual bomb squad on the bench.

“When it’s on, we’d love him [Libbok] to exploit. He’s always very fit and we had one week more to prepare with him than we had with Handre [Pollard] because the Bulls were playing in the [URC] final.

“I’m pretty sure England’s going to make it tough for us, but his selection we think fits for this game and if the game really opens up — which I think England will try to do — I think Manie is the right guy for that,” he told a press conference on Monday.

Erasmus has three backline players on the bench — though Andre Esterhuizen can slot into the pack with ease — but he has no fully ledged locks in reserve for the experienced pairing of Eben Etzebeth and Ruan Nortje.

His options are limited by injury, with Lood de Jager still unavailable and expected to be ready only for next weekend’s Test against Scotland, and Franco Mostert out for a couple of weeks.

But equally Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cameron Hanekom offer cover at lock.

Erasmus said he had intended to play under-20 star Riley Norton, but he picked up a grade 3 hamstring injury in training that will put him out of action for up to 10 weeks.

On prop Thomas du Toit, Erasmus recounted how he had been encouraged to switch him from loosehead to tighthead some years back, when he was vying for the No 1 jersey against Beast Mtawarira and Ox Nche.

“We got him back last year and we needed him at loosehead and he played the first game at loosehead and he said ‘no, I’m a tighthead now’.”

Wilco Louw, the Bulls front-rower who had a family bereavement in the past weeks, is being rested an extra week. “We worked with Zach [Porthen] a week longer.”

Erasmus reiterated it is important to go for the win, saying England have a mix of experience and youth that threaten to make it tough.

You get big Test matches and England is certainly one of them

—  Rassie Erasmus, Bok coach

“We haven’t played really in seven months since last November. The Barbarians was a nice warm-up and to get some guys into the structure, to know some guys and the SA A game was the same.

“But this is a Test match against England. You get big Test matches and England is certainly one of them.”

In 47 matches between the two countries over the years, the Springboks have won 29 and England 16.

In the past 10 years the Boks lead 6-4, including World Cup wins in 2019 and 2023.

At home the South Africans are up 11-4, and at Ellis Park specifically it’s 2-1.

England are scheduled to name their team on Thursday.

Springbok team (15-9; 1-8): Damian Willemse, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian De Allende (v-c), Kurt-Lee Arendse, Manie Libbok, Grant Williams, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain), Ruan Nortje, Eben Etzebeth, Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche

Replacements: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Zach Porthen, Marco van Staden, Cameron Hanekom, Cobus Reinach, Andre Esterhuizen, Canan Moodie

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