Bulls vs Lions United Rugby Championship showdown can serve as a Springbok trial

Ashfak Mohamed

It may still be early in the year to talk about the Springboks, but after coach Rassie Erasmus announced two squads for upcoming alignment camps, it has whetted the appetite for some serious selection discussions.

The 56-man group for the in-person alignment camp in Cape Town in early March, and then the 26-player list named on Wednesday for a virtual camp later next month – which mainly included overseas-based stars – saw almost every Bok contender included.

But it is likely that Erasmus will pick experimental line-ups for the opening three Tests of the year against Italy and Georgia in July, and some of the newcomers will be pushing for an opportunity in those games.

That is why Saturday’s United Rugby Championship showdown between the Bulls and Lions at Loftus Versfeld (2pm kick-off) is shaping up to be a Springbok trial of sorts.

There are several players from both teams who have been invited to the alignment camps, and two duels stand out that could influence Erasmus’ decision-making later this year.

Canan Moodie was in and out of the Bok side last year, with Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse the first-choice wings.

But the tall Bulls No.14 has an opportunity to put a string of eye-catching performances in the bunch of SA URC derbies, which began with a top-class effort against the Stormers a few weeks ago.

Moodie didn’t get many opportunities with ball-in-hand in last week’s defeat to the Sharks, but he could be shaken into action when he comes face-to-face with Lions speedster Edwill van der Merwe.

The former Stormers wing is pushing hard for more Bok caps, and was again excellent in last week’s win over the Cape side at Ellis Park.

Van der Merwe has the edge on Moodie when it comes to pace, but the latter is a big unit who is terrific under the high ball, and can throw his body around in defence. Will they cancel each other out?

A massive clash will come in the front row too, where Gerhard Steenekamp will hopefully be restored to the No 1 after playing off the bench against the Lions and Sharks in recent weeks.

Steenekamp is the established Bok loosehead understudy to Ox Nche – but he would want to show Erasmus that he can also start in Test matches.

Squaring off against him in the scrums on Saturday will be Lions giant Asenathi Ntlabakanye, who has proved that his 153kg frame is no deterrent to a huge work-rate.

Ntlabakanye is a marvel to watch in full flight with ball-in-hand, as he is not only capable of bulldozing through tackles, but also runs good lines.

His scrummaging is solid, too, but he will hope to stand strong in the set-piece under the intense scrutiny from Steenekamp.

Other exciting individual encounters at Loftus may include David Kriel against Henco van Wyk at outside centre, Embrose Papier and Morné van den Berg at scrumhalf, Cameron Hanekom and Francke Horn at No.8, and blindside flanks Reinhardt Ludwig and Ruan Venter.