Springboks: Erasmus Include One Shocking Selection to Squad For the Upcoming Tests Against All Blacks 

The 30-year-old forward was a shock selection from Erasmus and his coaching team but could play a crucial role in the Springboks’ Rugby Championship campaign.

We take a look at who Janse van Rensburg is and the value he will add to the Springboks squad for the crunch clashes against the All Blacks.

Nico Janse van Rensburg – The Forgotten Springbok

Standing at two metres tall and weighing 116 kilograms, Janse van Rensburg is by no means a striking figure when considering the behemoths that have donned the Springboks jersey in the past.

Still, he is of a similar size and frame to that of double World Cup winner Franco Mostert, edging the Bok regular by two centimetres and outweighing him by 10 kilograms.

The comparison to Mostert is particularly important because he has been brought into Erasmus’ squad as a lock, lineout general and option on the side of the scrum following the injury to the 76-Test cap star.

The Affies’ old boy, former Junior Springbok and ex-Bulls forward was one of Jake White’s signings when the former Bok boss was in charge of French club Montpellier in 2016 and Janse van Rensburg has remained at the side ever since, racking up well over 150 appearances.

At Montpellier, he has won the Challenge Cup and the Top 14 and has been a key cog in the team for several seasons. His performances in France did not go unnoticed by the Springboks selectors with ex-head coach Jacques Nienaber handing him his Test debut off the bench against Argentina in 2021. However, he would soon leave the squad for personal reasons.

If you look over the 30-year-old’s appearances for Montpellier last season, you will notice that he has played much of his rugby on the side of the scrum. In fact, he started just twice in the second-row for the club, with his other 15 appearances coming in the number six jumper during the 2023/24 season.

But it was notable that when announcing the Springboks squad for the Tests against the All Blacks, he was listed amongst the locks rather than the loose forwards.

So why is Erasmus selecting a player that has mostly played at flank for his club as a lock for the Springboks?

Well, the make-up of the Montpellier pack does give a hint to this as the French club have regularly favoured heavier second-rowers in the form of Paul Willemse (130kgs) and Tyler Duguid (124kgs), with French internationals Bastien Chalureau and Florian Verhaghe on their books too.

This has led to the athletic forward, affectionately known simply as ‘Janse’ in Montpellier, to play almost exclusively as a flanker but still perform the roles that a lock would, i.e. running the lineout, clearing out rucks and making tackles in the tight. Effectively, Janse van Rensburg was playing as a lock in every facet of the game except the scrums.

Replacing Franco Mostert

Simplistically, Erasmus is not looking to reinvent the Springbok lock template with the likes of Mostert and Lood de Jager ruled out through injury but has recalled a player that fits the existing one.

It’s worth remembering that while the two locks do much of the same job, there are skill sets that differ between a number four – tighthead lock or front lock – and a number five lock – loosehead lock or back lock.

The number four lock is the classic ‘enforcer’, a player who is a strong carrier and tackler who is technically sharp at the breakdown and jumps at the front of the lineout – ala Bakkies Botha and Eben Etzebeth.

With Janse van Rensburg’s call-up, Erasmus is looking to strengthen his five lock stocks, the position the Springboks usually entrust the lineout calling duties to, and to be the main jumper at the set-piece. They also expect a high work-rate on defence and to be an athletic ball carrier – think prime Victor Matfield or what Mostert has done throughout his career.

Now this is a very binary way of looking at the two roles and obviously, a set of locks can complement one another and make up for one another’s shortcomings or strengths in particular roles. But when you are in the luxurious position like Erasmus is in with the plethora of options to choose from, then he can select a player that fits a particular bill better than others.

For example, Ruben van Heerden would be a solid pick to fill Mostert’s void with his athleticism around the park and overall work-rate, but where he does lack is experience in running a lineout having only recently taken on the duties with the Stormers. In contrast, Ruan Nortje has been running the Bulls’ lineout for several seasons and the same is true for Janse van Rensburg at Montpellier.

The stats from this season suggests that he ticks a lot of, if not all, the boxes that Mostert does for the Springboks. For Montpellier, he ranked in the top 10 for tackles made despite playing just 20 of their 31 games this season – averaging around eight tackles per game or a tackle every seven minutes at a success rate of 87.7%. His work-rate is further highlighted by his average of five carries – a lowish number – but his five passes added to that fits the requirements of the new emphasis of forwards being able and willing to shift the ball wider in Tony Brown’s attacking patterns.

He also averaged over three metres per carry, a high number considering how many of those carries would have been in close quarters, while he also averaged over 10 ruck entries per game, providing Montpellier with a really well-rounded performance more often than not.

Effectively, Erasmus has looked for a short-term replacement for Mostert but, with Janse van Rensburg being three years his junior, perhaps he could feature more often than many expect.