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Springboks explain naming Kolbe at No15, why he also covers No10
By Liam Heagney
Saturday in Dublin will see a strange sight for Springboks fans - Cheslin Kolbe running out wearing the No15 jersey for the first time in his Test career while also being on standby to provide cover at No10 should anything happen to the starting fly-half Damian Willemse. The recently-turned 29-year-old Kolbe has started on 16 previous occasions for South Africa - but every time he was in the No14 shirt and positioned on the right wing.
Finally available again for international selection following the broken jaw injury sustained in July against Wales, Kolbe is one of three changes that Jacques Nienaber has announced in his Springboks team to face Ireland on Saturday six weeks after they got the better of Argentina in round six of The Rugby Championship in Durban.
Injured duo Frans Steyn and Canan Moodie have been replaced by Willemse and Kurt-Lee Arendse, but the major talking point on Tuesday after the Springboks confirmed their XV in Dublin was the presence of Kolbe at No15 in place of the benched Willie le Roux - with the added responsibility of potentially switching in-game to fly-half should a change be needed regarding Willemse, the starting No10.
“Cheslin at full-back, I would say after about three or four games when he started with us in 2018, he was always a realistic option at 15,” revealed Nienaber. “He trained at 15 often for us. We were just never forced to play him there. Not forced but it was never an opportunity for us to play him there. But we feel this specific game having Cheslin at full-back will serve us the best.”
Asked to confirm if Kolbe was also covering fly-half, Nienaber added: “Yes. With us going with the six/two (bench) split, he will be our fly-half. With us doing roadmaps on the players and doing performance analysis he has been utilised at the Top 14 level at fly-half often, especially for Toulouse when the French team managed (Romain) Ntamack.
“He stepped in and played fly-half for them quite often. Obviously, he is a very skillful player and that is the nice thing about having the versatility of a guy like Cheslin that can play full-back, that can play wing, and cover at fly-half, especially if you want to utilise the six/two (forwards/backs) split - that is quite important.”
Nienaber admitted that the selection of Kolbe at full-back would deprive the Springboks of a few centimeters in height with le Roux only chosen on the bench, but he has no concerns about the overall size of his back-three selection.
“I don’t know the centimetres but Cheslin is probably a little bit shorter than Willie but Makazole Mapimpi is still the same and when we played against New Zealand, Kurt-Lee was there. So I think in stature they are probably a little bit shorter than what we are used but with Canan being out, that is the cards we have been dealt with and I’m comfortable they will be able to handle whatever Ireland throws their way.”
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John, McKenzie was 10 years ago and he only lasted 15 months until the disgustingly unfair affair that brought him down. I thought that if he didn't get another gig over Eddie V2 then he was done. I read that he had been approached but declined to put his name in the ring.
There are no potential Wallaby coaches outside of McKellar unless you have some inside info?
Go to commentsThe way they are defending is sometime pathetic to be honest. Itoje is usually on the inside of the rush and he is paired with a slower tight forward. Unable to keep up with the rush we have seen the line become disconnected on the inside where the big boys are. How many times have we seen Earl rush past the first receiver almost into no mans land covering no attacker. It looks like a system without any guidance. Tome Wright, Ikitau and a number of Wallabies went back to this soft centre as did Williams, Jordan and several others. Also when the line is broken the multiple lines of defence seems to be missing. The rush is predicated on a cover and recovery system with multiple lines of defence but with England you dont see it any more. Fitness and conditioning seems to be off as well as players are struggling to keep up with the intensity of the rush. Felix Jones has left a huge hole. The whole situation was and is a mess. Why they insist on not letting him go and having him work remotely is beyond me. Its leading to massive negative press and is a hot button issue thats distracting from the squad. Also the communication around Jones and his role has been absolute rubbish and is totally disjointed. While some say he is working remotely and playing a role others are saying theres been no contact. His role has not been defined and so people keep asking and keep getting different answers. England need a clean break from him and need to start over. Whatever reason for his leaving its time to cut the rope before the saga drags the whole Borthwick regime down. As for Joe El Abd well good luck to him. He is being made to look like an amateur by the whole saga and he is being asked to coach a system thats not his and which has been perfected and honed since 2017 by Nienaber, Jones, Erasmus and Co and which was first started by White in 2004. He is literally trying to figure out a system pioneered by double world cup winning coaches at the highest level and coach it at the same time. Talk about being on a hiding to nothing.
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