Cape Town – There were some raised eyebrows on Tuesday when Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber sent Malcolm Marx back to the bench when he named his match-23 for Saturday’s second Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
The 28-year-old hooker had just delivered one of his finest performances of his career on the occasion of his 50th Test cap in last week’s 26-10 victory at Mbombela Stadium.
Marx was a menace at the breakdowns as he earned a number of penalties and slowed down the All Blacks’ ball on the ground. He also carried the ball with ferocity, was accurate with his lineout-throwing and strong in the scrums.
The former Lions star had produced such a compelling display that there would have been few, if any, grumbles if he had been retained in the No 2 jersey at his old home ground this weekend.
But first Nienaber brought Bongi Mbonambi back to start at Ellis Park, and once he sustained a knee injury, Joseph Dweba was then catapulted straight into the front row, with Marx still among the replacements.
Is that the right call? Doesn’t Marx deserve more starts? Nienaber believes that the players on the bench have an equally important role when coming on, as he wants the starters to give their all until they cannot continue at such a high level any longer.
That is why some of the reserves come on even before halftime. While that policy is fair enough, why can’t the personnel be changed around? In 2022, it is clear that Marx is in better form than Mbonambi, so he deserves more starts.
You could argue that Marx plays a decisive role at the breakdowns, which comes in handy in the final quarter if the opposition are chasing the game, but that shouldn’t mean that he should be denied starts.
Mbonambi is regarded as a more direct player who does the hard yards at close quarters, is arguably a better scrummager and controls the ball at the back of the maul superbly, while Marx plays a slightly looser role and is more of a threat at the breakdown – but that doesn’t mean one should start ahead of the other on that basis.
The same could apply to Steven Kitshoff. The Stormers captain would have expected to take over the No 1 jersey when Tendai Mtawarira retired after the 2019 World Cup, but now he has seen Ox Nche and Trevor Nyakane start ahead of him in the No 1 jersey.
Is that fair on the 30-year-old ginger-haired loosehead prop? Probably not. Having been part of the ‘Bomb Squad’ at the World Cup shouldn’t mean Kitshoff should play off the bench forever if his form warrants a start, as it does at the moment.
Kwagga Smith is another bench figure who is pushing hard for a starting berth at No 8, where Jasper Wiese has been preferred whenever Duane Vermeulen has not been available. Smith has been terrific as a ball-carrier, tackler and poacher on the ground, and should be rewarded for his form as well.
Talking about the Bomb Squad, the six-two split in favour of the forwards seems to be relatively cast in stone in the Bok set-up, but it’s something that Nienaber and his management team need to continually review.
Having just two backs on the bench has disrupted the team a few times due to injuries this year, which has seen the entire backline being re-jigged, or even Smith having to cover at wing.
The versatility of Damian Willemse, Willie le Roux and Lukhanyo Am has made it possible up to now, but Damian de Allende made an interesting point during a SuperSport TV interview this week when he said the starting backs’ mindset changes in that they know they have to prepare themselves to play 80 minutes every time because there are only two backs on the bench.
Of course, every starter should be fit enough to last the whole match, but almost being forced to do so because there is one less backline replacement adds unnecessary pressure, and could also inadvertently result in those starting backs to pace themselves rather than go all out, like the forwards do, and come off when they cannot maintain that high work-rate any longer.
IOL Sport