The Rugby Championship is live and exclusive on Sky Sports
Tuesday 14 August 2018 12:07, UK
The Springboks kick off their Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, what can we expect from Rassie Erasmus' men?
The Springboks headed into their June series against England with new coach Rassie Erasmus at the helm. Former Munster boss Erasmus had lost his first match in charge of South Africa, against Wales in Washington DC at the end of May, so he was in need of a series win to get his tenure off to a solid start.
His side duly delivered; the Boks took an unassailable 2-0 lead with wins in Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, before England bounced back to claim the third and final Test in Cape Town.
So in terms of a series result Erasmus would have been happy, but the way his side played at times will have had him concerned. In the first two Tests England raced out the blocks, going ahead 24-3 in Johannesburg and 12-0 in Bloemfontein before the Boks clawed their way back.
Some of the tries scored by England were far too easy, and conceding an average of over 25 points per game in a three-Test series does not make for good reading for those in charge of defence. However, on the flip side of that is the good attacking play by the South Africans, and the character required to fight back when their backs against the wall.
On balance the Springboks came out of their June series with plenty of hope for the future, but knowing full well the reality of that future will become clear over the course of the Rugby Championship.
Duane Vermeulen, Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux all played a huge part in South Africa's series win over England.
No 8 Vermeulen played only four Tests under previous coach Allister Coetzee, while neither Le Roux nor De Klerk featured after the Boks' disastrous European tour at the end of 2016. However, the trio all flourished in June, with Vermeulen laying the platform with his physical presence, De Klerk setting the tempo in attack, and Le Roux pulling the strings out wide.
South Africa have a 30-cap rule for overseas players, but Erasmus has obtained special permission to select overseas players where needed, and it paid off for the Bok boss over the summer. Unfortunately for Erasmus, Vermeulen will miss the Rugby Championship due to commitments with Japanese side Kubota Spears, but the coach has once again cast his net far as he brings in Bath's Francois Louw.
"We saw the benefit and impact of Willie le Roux and Faf de Klerk in the squad during the June internationals and I want Flo (Louw) to perform a similar role for us," Erasmus said.
If the Boks are to challenge for silverware their overseas players - and the experience they bring - will be crucial.
The Boks have been an interesting beast in recent times. Former coach Coetzee said he wanted his team to play a more expansive game, but if they did it wasn't particularly effective. Erasmus has not made much mention of how he wants to play the game, but the players he is selecting may give a hint towards his preferred style - or perhaps he's just been lucky.
Having Malcolm Marx in the same pack as Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth allows you to play a very physical game by default, so you'd imagine that their go-to tactic would be to rumble the ball up and tire out defences with a blunt-force attack.
However, Kolisi is more than happy to play among the backs when the game gets loose, and Marx was the top try-scoring forward in this year's Super Rugby tournament by some distance.
Also, it was the high-tempo game from the likes of De Klerk, Le Roux and Handre Pollard that allowed the Boks to beat England, rather than a tactical kicking game. They also now have a lethal winger in Aphiwe Dyantyi, one of the finds of the season.
It's difficult to play an expansive game if you don't have your house in order in terms of your set piece, so the Boks will still be showing a heavy focus on their forwards, but expect to see more fireworks from the backs than recent times have afforded.
The reality for Erasmus and his troops is that, while they are improving, the are unlikely to pull off enough wins to challenge for top spot this year. New Zealand still appear to be in good health, while Australia are steadily gaining momentum and won't be easy to beat at home.
However, the Boks are one of those teams who are difficult to write off. After being humiliated 57-0 by New Zealand in last year's Rugby Championship, they lost by a single point in the return fixture in Cape Town a month later.
They are also one of the few countries with a decent record against the Wallabies and All Blacks, and they are starting to develop an all-round game to match the best.
The first job they have is back-to-back games against the Pumas; if they can come away with two wins, and even a couple of bonus points, they will feel like they are in a position to cause problems for the Aussies and the Kiwis.
It may be too soon to call them title hopefuls, but they are still able to use this year's Rugby Championship to prove they can beat anyone on their day, even the fearsome All Blacks.
Forwards: Cyle Brink, Jean-Luc du Preez, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Steven Kitshoff, Siya Kolisi, Francois Louw, Wilco Louw, Frans Malherbe, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Franco Mostert, Tendai Mtawarira, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Marvin Orie, RG Snyman, Akker van der Merwe, Marco van Staden, Warren Whiteley.
Backs: Lukhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi, Lwazi Mvovo, Ross Cronje, Aphiwe Dyantyi, Elton Jantjies, Lionel Mapoe, Jesse Kriel, Embrose Papier, Handre Pollard, Ivan van Zyl, Faf de Klerk, Willie le Roux, Damien Willemse.
