Handre Pollard might very well be the third-choice flyhalf at the Springboks presently, which is the ultimate South African depth flex, writes Lloyd Burnard.
Another Test match, another Springbok rotation.
More new combinations, more fresh faces - some returning, others just starting out - and another opportunity for head coach Rassie Erasmus to build some valuable intel as his plans for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia continue.
The Boks, quite simply, are on another planet presently with the highs of last weekend’s stunning second-half showing and victory in France echoing throughout the rugby world this week.
In international waters, there is the realisation that, despite a slip-up to the Wallabies at Ellis Park earlier this year, the Boks are back to their devastating best, rumbling through anyone and everyone.
All the while, they are tweaking their matchday teams in a way that other nations could only dream of.
The depth machine that Erasmus has built is next level.
READ |Pollard, Van den Berg the halfbacks as Boks ring changes for Italy showdown
When he named his side on Thursday for this Saturday’s clash against Italy in Turin, just four players who started against France were retained.
All over the park, Erasmus has rung the changes.
Most noticeably, Ethan Hooker - who has six caps to has name - is shifted to inside centre for the first time at this level.
A hard runner with plenty of physicality and intensity, the 22-year-old Durbanite is undeniably the future, and if he slots into the midfield channel seamlessly, that will be a hugely exciting prospect for the Boks post Damian de Allende.
Canan Moodie continuing at outside centre makes sense given the ability he has shown in that channel, and suddenly, the Boks have a new-look midfield that is tantalising.
In the front row, meanwhile, there is another baptism of fire for 21-year-old Zach Porthen, who earns a second Test start.
It means that the Bok front row, usually an area of extreme experience, will have a combined 11 caps between them on Saturday with hooker Johan Grobbelaar and loosehead Boan Venter sitting on just five each.
It’s another new combination in a crucial area.
But the selection that is perhaps the most obvious Bok depth flex is at flyhalf, where 31-year-old double World Cup winner Handre Pollard is drafted in.
No, of course there is nothing shocking about Pollard being selected. He is, of course, one of the greats of the modern game and still has good years ahead of him.
But that is precisely the point.
Pollard last started for the Boks in the Eden Park defeat to the All Blacks back on 6 September - six Test matches ago.
Since then, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has been given an extended run as the first-choice playmaker, with Manie Libbok his deputy.
Both Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Libbok have been brilliant over that period and, as unfathomable as it may be, Pollard has potentially slipped down to No 3 in the flyhalf queue.
Given everything he has contributed to South African rugby over the years and the countless kicks and conversions under the most immense pressure, Pollard is considered by many to be the greatest flyhalf the Boks have ever produced.
I, for one, agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly.
But with the direction the Boks are moving in presently - scoring tries is clearly the priority as opposed to chipping away on the scoreboard through an accurate boot - Pollard’s influence has been altered.
Make no mistake, he remains a vital banker for Erasmus. There is no way the Boks will head to the World Cup without him, but Pollard is no longer first in line.
There isn’t a Test playing nation that wouldn’t welcome the services of a general like Pollard with open arms and, in almost every one of those hypotheticals, he would surely walk into the No 10 jersey.
And that is what is scary if you aren’t South African: the third choice for the Boks, but first choice everywhere else.
And that’s just one position.
Week by week, month by month, Test by Test, Erasmus is transforming this group of champions into something younger, quicker and stronger. But he is not sacrificing the quality of the product.
It is what paints this era golden.
Springbok team to face Italy:
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Marco van Staden, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Boan Venter
Substitutes: 16 Gerhard Steenekamp, 17 Wilco Louw, 18 RG Snyman, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok
