Springbok scrumhalf Grant Williams of South Africa makes a pass during the Rugby Championship against New Zealand. Grant Williams is lethal when the game opens up, but that doesn’t mean he should be labelled an impact player for the Springboks. Photo: Michael Bradley/AFP
I LOVED the response from analyst Swys de Bruin when he was asked about the Springbok halfback selection of Manie Libbok and Grant Williams for Saturday’s match against Argentina in Johannesburg.
“With those two, don’t expect a conservative game-plan. If you asked them to play conservatively, it would be like putting a tractor in a 100m sprint,” the former Bok attack coach said.
I have to agree with De Bruin that the selection for the first time of Libbok and Williams as a combination is exciting.
Each of them is capable of cutting the opposition to shreds and if we have them playing off each other at Ellis Park, there could be a wealth of attacking opportunities for the centres and, especially, the potent wings in Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse.
On the latter, it is fitting that he has been rewarded for his hat-trick heroics against Australia a few weeks back.
The left wing incumbent, Makazole Mapimpi, knows the heat is on for the No 11 jersey in the big games.
Likewise, Williams is starting his first Test match because he not so much knocked on the selectors’ door but smashed a hole through it.
The scrumhalf pool at the Boks must be the envy of the world.
Faf de Klerk, Williams, Jaden Hendrikse, Cobus Reinach and Herschel Jantjies are all worthy of starting against Scotland in the first World Cup match but two of them could miss out on making the final cut – with 33 players going to the World Cup.
I would think Jantjies is out of the picture and possibly one more, depending on how coach Jacques Nienaber structures his squad.
The bonus for Williams is that he can also play on the wing. At the Sharks, Werner Kok is the only player who can keep up with him in sprint sessions. That kind of versatility counts heavily in his favour.
Given the conservative nature of the Bok selectors, they are likely to still have Handré Pollard and De Klerk as their primary starting No 9 and 10, with Libbok and Williams or Hendrikse in the Bomb Squad.
When Williams played off the bench for the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship, behind Hendrikse, he almost always scored a try. He also made a big difference in the match against the All Blacks.
He is lethal when the game opens up but that doesn’t mean he should be pigeon-holed as an impact player.
I reckon Williams and Libbok have a huge amount to play for against the Pumas, and their combination could spark a thrilling Springbok performance.
Looking at the forwards, the selection of the same loose trio that was so good against the Wallabies is a smart move, while also rewarding good form.
Duane Vermeulen, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Marco van Staden were exceptional at Lotus Versfeld.
The latter was a revelation, while Vermeulen and Du Toit proved that they are close to their best form.
The 37-year-old No 8 would be forgiven if he was a little smug after silencing his critics in emphatic fashion — before the international season started, it was suggested in some quarters that Vermeulen should switch to a managerial role.
At hooker, Malcolm Marx has a golden opportunity on his former home ground to state his case for leap-frogging his old rival, Bongi Mbonambi.
@MikeGreenaway67