Three debuts for Boks against Georgia as selections affected by Covid-19 protocols

The Springboks’ first Test team selection in nearly 20 months was never going to be straightforward due to a certain pandemic. Coach Jacques Nienaber had settled on his squad last Saturday, but later the same day was forced to leave out World Cup winners Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi.

The pair were in close contact with three players who tested positive for Covid-19, and, although returning negative PCR results themselves, have been isolating as a precaution.

Prop Vincent Koch and wing Sbu Nkosi, who is a Sharks teammate of Am and Mapimpi, both tested positive for Covid-19 after routine PCR testing on Saturday morning. Those tests were a prerequisite for entering their Johannesburg biosecure environment where players will be subjected to three PCR tests a week.

Scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies also returned a positive result in the initial screening, but it was later found to be a false positive and he has been cleared to face the Georgians. He is on the bench with Cobus Reinach starting in the No 9 jersey.

If anything, these disruptions for Nienaber are a possible sign of things to come. The biosecure bubbles all the teams, including Georgia and the British & Irish Lions, are confined to, are not failsafe.

They are designed to mitigate risk, but they cannot guarantee a 100% Covid-free environment while players and hotel staff move in and out of the “red zone” occasionally.

Am and Mapimpi’s misfortune has opened the door for others. Sharks’ rising star Aphelele Fassi will make his Test debut at left wing, while Jesse Kriel comes in at outside centre for Am where he will partner Frans Steyn in the midfield.

There is also a debut for former Blitzbok sensation Rosko Specman, who dons the No 14 jersey with Nkosi unavailable. World Cup hero Cheslin Kolbe only joined the squad on Sunday after winning the French Top 14 with Toulouse last Friday, so wasn’t considered for this week.

With Duane Vermeulen injured, Kwagga Smith makes only his sixth Test start but his first at No 8, having previously played flank. It’s an interesting selection because he is a different type of athlete from Vermeulen.

At almost 20kg lighter than the big bruiser Vermeulen, Smith prefers to play quickly and limit massive contact, choosing to use his natural pace and agility to upset the opposition. It hints that the Bok game plan might be a little more up-tempo than it was in the latter stages of Rugby World Cup 2019, when they last played.

Jasper Wiese, Leicester’s abrasive loose forward, will make his Test debut from the bench. He is more in Vermeulen’s mould and could offer the coaches some answers to their approach for the upcoming series against the Lions.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber. (Photo: Steve Haag / Gallo Images)