Five Springboks who put their hands up for World Cup spots

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’ largely experimental delivered the goods against Australia in the Rugby Championship opener at Ellis Park on Saturday, with some players putting their hands up for further honours.

The hosts registered a resounding 35-17 victory against a strong Wallabies side, with individual brilliance proving the decisive factor at crucial moments.

While the likes of Pieter-Steph du Toit, Elton Jantjies and Eben Etzebeth delivered fine performances, their spots in the Boks’ first team have never been in doubt, and it was the rookies and the returnees who caught the eye, as well as a few players who might have perhaps been on the verge of losing their grip on their starting places, with competition for spots heating up months away from the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Warrick Gelant

Injury stalled his progress in 2018, but the Bulls man was back in the green and gold, and produced arguably the best performance in his six Test caps.

Always a constant threat on attack, Gelant was always eager to join the line and played a crucial hand in S’bu Nkosi’s try, which put some distance between the two sides.

S’bu Nkosi

The Sharks winger is one of those with perhaps one foot on that plane to Japan, but could have feared falling down the pecking order, thanks to competition for places in his position being as tight as ever, coupled with a relatively quiet Super Rugby campaign.

The match against the Wallabies was a huge opportunity for Nkosi to strengthen his grip on the no.14 jersey, and he grasped it with both hands, scoring a try that capped off an assured all-round performance which began with him showing a clean pair of heels to set up the first score.

Herschel Jantjies

The stand-out performer on Test debut, and his performance might have pretty much penciled his name in as understudy to Faf de Klerk at the World Cup.

The diminutive scrumhalf barely put a foot wrong on his way to bagging two tries, and displayed a great deal of energy and game awareness.

Francois Louw

Dispelled any notion that his powers were waning by putting on possibly his best performance in a Bok jersey in recent years.

Louw effected the steal that ultimately saw Jantjies dive over for the first try, and nullified the threat posed by Aussie skipper Michael Hooper at the breakdown.

Frans Steyn

His experience, versatility and X-factor makes him an vital member of any squad he can possibly turn up for, but needed to prove he can still produce the goods in Test rugby after being out in the wilderness for over two years.

The 32-year-old needed just a cameo off the bench to prove he’s still up to scratch, and more performances of the same standard could see him leapfrog the man he came on to replace, André Esterhuizen in the pecking order and, ultimately, wrestle the number 12 jersey from Damian de Allende.