North-West University Eagles captain Ruan ‘Sampie’ Swiegers.(Lee Warren/Gallo Images)
Gallo Images
Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus’ left field decision to call up unheralded Pumas prop Ruan “Sampie” Swiegers for his next alignment camp appears to be as much about finding an emergency tighthead prop for the world champions’ opening match of the season as it is about securing a long-term replacement for the legendary Frans Malherbe.
The Boks play their first game as back-to-back world champions is against World Cup quarter-finalists Wales at Twickenham on 22 June, but because the fixture falls outside World Rugby’s international window, Erasmus has no clue which players from the frontline franchises will be available for that engagement as the United Rugby Championship final is on the same day.
After toying with the idea of playing the Boks’ loosehead super sub Ox Nche on the right side of the scrum, Erasmus appears to have decided to cast the experimentation net wider still. Better yet, Erasmus also seems to have begun working on finding the nearest thing to a like-for-like replacement for Malherbe, who has been unmovable for the Boks at tighthead prop.
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