Five Boks who need a big show against Portugal
Saturday’s Test against Portugal is an opportunity to enhance credentials
The Springboks play Portugal in the first-ever Test between the two teams in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
They will deploy a much changed line-up from the one that lost the second Test to Ireland. The team features some returnees, young blood and those who need to remind why they became Springboks in the first place.
Lukhanyo Am
He has had horrendous misfortune with injuries. The injury bogey has been a constant companion and it has seen him play in just five of the Springboks’ last 30 Tests.
He needs a strong performance if he is going to put pressure on incumbent Jesse Kriel who has taken his Bok career to another level in Am’s absence.
There is no doubt Am is one of the most gifted operators in the Bok squad but there has been more than the odd suggestion the injuries have diminished his powers. Another virtuoso performance from the outside centre will help dispel that.
The second coming of Lukhanyo Am
Manie Libbok
The last time Libbok played for the Springboks was in last year’s Rugby World Cup semifinal win over England. He was replaced after just 31 minutes but suffered the further indignity of being dropped from the squad for the final.
His form in the United Rugby Championship was patchy. Making play with ball in hand or finding space with the boot comes naturally to Libbok but accuracy off the kicking tee remains a work-on. Libbok is expected to raise the Boks’ new game in attack, but he will ultimately be judged for his ability to do the same to the flags.
Evan Roos
The Stormers’ barnstorming No 8 has been knocking on the door for regular inclusion for some time. His URC form suggests he is ready for the step up but his cause might not have been aided with the time spent on the side rather than the back of the scrum.
Crucially, with Duane Vermeulen retired and Jasper Wiese unavailable, he was overlooked for the series against Ireland. That suggests he still has some work to do to convince head coach Rassie Erasmus and co. The match against Portugal however is a real opportunity for Roos to show has wares.
Boks make sweeping changes for Test against Portugal in Bloem
Johan Grobbelaar
The Bulls hooker proved one of his team’s most consistent performers in the URC. His level very rarely dips. Grobbelaar was hugely instrumental in getting the Bulls to the URC final against Glasgow Warriors but now he is required to take his game a level up. The Boks have two well-established hookers but Grobbelaar appears to have stolen the march on those in the queue.
His performance against Portugal will be keenly observed in the context of Malcolm Marx’s latest knee injury. Grobbelaar has the chance to show he comes closest to fitting the Marx mould.
Elrigh Louw
Louw has blipped on the outer edges of the Springbok radar since playing three Tests in 2022. He featured in two Tests against Wales and the clash against Argentina in Buenos Aires before drifting almost off-screen.
Some commanding performances for the Bulls from the side of the scrum, however, have brought him back into the Bok reckoning and he too needs to show he belongs in exalted company. Whether he mostly does this as a flank for the Boks is moot. Louw operates in a crowded back-row field and only performances from the top drawer will enhance his cause.
