South Africa’s selection puzzler; Samoa want more time with tier one; Tshiunza’s steep learning curve; and fuelling with baguettes
Injury-hit Springboks ready for Romania, South Africa get a second crack at Pool B on Sunday evening against Romania in Bordeaux. While much has been made of the world champions’ squad depth, the loss of the hooker Malcolm Marx to a knee injury this week was a significant setback on and off the field.
The Springboks’ wider approach to selection has generated much debate lately, a trend that continued when Nienaber named four scrum-halves in his 23-man panel to face Romania. He was keen to highlight the various skills of the players in question, however, referencing the fact that Faf de Klerk is no stranger to playing at fly-half, having done so at club and school level.
Another versatile operator in South Africa’s squad is the fit-again 20-year-old Canan Moodie, who played his first professional match at centre in the statement win against the All Blacks at Twickenham. Moodie is reunited in midfield with Harlequins’ Andre Esterhuizen in Bordeaux as Nienaber and the director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, test various combinations in a match they expect to win comfortably.
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