Willie le Roux’s composure and experience would be valuable assets for the Springboks against a fired-up England side. Photo: AYANDA NDAMANE Independent Newspapers
Comment by Ashfak Mohamed
Willie le Roux’s performance against Scotland last Sunday was almost a throwback to his Boland days, where he was dubbed ‘Quade Cooper’ for his playmaking abilities.
Those afternoons at the Boland Stadium in Wellington were a long time ago for Le Roux, now 35 and with 98 Test caps to his name.
He has virtually seen and done it all, from playing Vodacom Cup for Boland to being a double World Cup winner, having also made stellar contributions to Griquas, the Cheetahs, Sharks, Wasps, Toyota Verblitz, Canon Eagles and the Bulls.
But there remains one major milestone left for the ‘Strand Hond’, and that’s playing his 100th Test, which is a real possibility on the current UK tour.
That is why I would like to see Le Roux start again in Saturday’s Test against England at Twickenham, and in the final game of the trip – which would be his 100th game – against Wales in Cardiff on November 23.
It might come across as a mere sentimental choice, but that’s not the only reason. Le Roux’s display at Murrayfield was excellent, and it showed that he is still good enough to be the first-choice Bok fullback at the moment.
That is no slight on the outstanding Sharks No 15 Aphelele Fassi, who has made a tremendous comeback to the international arena this year with a couple of sparkling displays in the green-and-gold.
Fassi has his strengths – cutting into the line at pace, fielding the high ball, and being much more solid in defence these days.
There is no doubt that he is still a strong contender for the No 15 jersey, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Rassie Erasmus reinstates him at fullback when he announces the team today.
But Le Roux is hungrier than ever, considering the work-rate that he produced against Scotland in the 32-15 victory.
He got involved on attack on a number of occasions, with the highlight being that deft little chip to set up a flying Makazole Mapimpi in the left-hand corner.
He brought good width to the Bok backline, acted as a second flyhalf to back up Handré Pollard when needed, and added a necessary spark, especially following the struggles of scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse in clearing the breakdowns.
Le Roux’s composure and experience will also be valuable assets to have for the Boks on Saturday against what will be a fired-up England side.
Coach Steve Borthwick’s team may be feeling the heat following successive losses to the All Blacks and Wallabies, but the Boks would be underestimating them at their own peril on Saturday.
England are well capable of beating the Boks, despite their issues in closing out games in the final quarter.
They have a proper, competitive pack that won’t take a step back to the South Africans, even though their bench may not quite match up to the ‘Bomb Squad’.
The likes of Maro Itoje, Jamie George and Henry Slade are wily campaigners, while promising newer faces such as Chandler Cunningham-South and Nick Isiekwe will want to make a name for themselves against the world champions.
So, it won’t be an easy outing by any means, and having Le Roux around can only benefit the Boks.
He enjoyed a terrific performance a decade ago at the same ground in a 31-28 SA victory, where he put Cobus Reinach over for a try with a well-timed offload off the back of a classy Pat Lambie chip.
It would be fitting if Le Roux can take the penultimate step to becoming a Bok centurion with another memorable Twickenham Test.
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