Given the harsh light that has for long illuminated the build-up to the Springboks’ clash against Ireland, it would have been easy to miss in the shadows their clash against Tonga in Marseille next Sunday.
Irrespective of how the chips fell or whose green got rubbed at Stade de France, the Boks will go into the Tonga fixture hoping to secure pool supremacy at the Stade Velodrome.
Ireland play Scotland in their last pool match, and they will face a significant challenge in their quest for the top spot.
Gregor Townsend’s team — who lost to the Springboks on the opening weekend — will want to avoid another painfully early exit from the RWC. In 2019 hosts Japan in a match played at breathtaking speed won the tournament’s last pool game to deny the Scots passage to the knock-out stages.
The match against Tonga will also present the Boks the opportunity to survey their options before they head into the knockout phases of the competition.
The selection that is likely to dominate all the pre-match talk is that of Handre Pollard — who is fit again. Pollard has been back in the Bok orbit but is expected to make his full re-entry at Stade Velodrome next week.
He has not played for the Springboks since he was injured against the Wallabies in Adelaide last year. His storied absence, and now return, has raised questions about the Boks’ selection policy, but they are better off with a fully fit Pollard than without him.
Pollard’s inability to train at full-throttle saw him excluded from the Bok Rugby World Cup squad when the deadline arrived. In some ways the Boks have appeared to move on without him, and it will be up to Pollard to catch up with where they are as a collective.
Though he has been part of their off-field preparations for the World Cup and their warm-up matches, and will have clarity about what is required in his position, Pollard hasn’t actually replicated that in a match situation. The clash against Tonga presents him that opportunity.
As halfback, he may well be paired with Jaden Hendrikse, who now very much appears to be the third-choice scrumhalf. The last time they started a Test together was against the All Blacks at Ellis Park last year. The Boks went into that game having thumped the All Blacks in Mbombela the week before but made a few changes to their line-up and lost.
Both Pollard and Hendrikse have been afflicted by injury, with the latter missing a considerable chunk of the start of the international season.
Given the high premium the Boks now place on versatility, Pollard may also see action at inside centre.
Elsewhere, there may be a start at hooker for either Deon Fourie or Marco van Staden as Bongi Mbonambi’s workload is eased.
Mbonambi has featured in all eight Tests this year and played in the last 13 Tests in a row. Handré needs a break. Maintaining his fitness is paramount, especially with Malcolm Marx no longer part of the World Cup equation.
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