The Springboks’s end-of-year tour to the UK has been hailed an all round success.
Apart from completing a first end-of-year tour unbeaten since 2013, much has been said and written of the continued expansion of the playing group this year.
The tour proved particularly useful for players who were short of a gallop, those re-entering the Bok orbit, as well as those hoping to establish themselves on the Test firmament.
Franco Mostert broke his fibula [calf bone] in the second Test against Ireland in Durban in July, and his absence was keenly felt in the Bok second row. Mostert — a reliable source [if you’ll pardon the pun] of mid lineout possession — left quite a void.
If there was one area in which the Boks perhaps did not assert themselves, it is in the battle for set piece aerial ball.
Mostert made his return in the Bok starting line-up against Scotland at Murrayfield and the cobwebs were apparent. The plan was to gradually bring him up to speed and he played just one half.
He missed out on selection in the second Test against England, but was back with a bang in the season-ending Test against Wales in Cardiff.
With lock partner Eben Etzebeth leaving the field early with injury, Mostert put in a proper shift — not just in the set pieces, but he was typically active in the tight loose. The try he scored when he perfectly timed his run into the wider channel served as another reminder of his prowess as ball carrier.
Mostert turned 34 last week, which puts him in an awkward age bracket when the Bok squad for the 2027 Rugby World Cup is assembled. His most recent performance was timely, as he remains a player big of heart in every sense.
Tighthead prop Wilco Louw had to wait a touch over 39 months to move from 14 to 15 Tests. Though he has been a beast of a performer for the Bulls, he only got back in when Jan-Hendrik Wessels withdrew from the squad because of injury.
Louw’s reputation as an immovable object at scrum time was only enhanced in the Tests he played against England and Wales. He’s a prop of real substance, but has had Frans Malherbe, Vincent Koch, Trevor Nyakane and Thomas du Toit ahead of him in the tighthead queue. Crucially, at 30, Louw is just about reaching his peak.
Cameron Hanekom is another Bulls forward who has stamped his authority in the United Rugby Championship. Like Louw, Hanekom found that playing yourself into the Bok reckoning was an almost impossible task.
South Africa’s loose forward production line is well greased, but Hanekom also got the nod as a result of injury. Not that there was any doubt, but against Wales he showed he belongs in the Test arena.
Jordan Hendrikse got a taste of Test rugby at the start of the international season and his second right at the end. If he was treading water on debut against Wales in London, he certainly took to the Test game swimmingly at the second attempt.
To be fair, given his form trajectory this season, Hendrikse’s performance at the Principality Stadium came as little surprise. His transfer from the Lions to the Sharks has taken his game up another gear.
At the Lions he was chiefly a distributor but at the Sharks he has been required to be more confrontational. Being involved in more scraps suits his game. He has also given the selectors more to chew on.
Handre Pollard, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Manie Libbok are the men ahead in the queue but now, at least, on the evidence presented in Cardiff, Hendrikse has drawn a ticket with a number on it.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.