Pumas may have given Boks a place to target

To be frank, in the first half their scrum creaked and made Australian prop Scott Sio look dominant, while their lineouts fell apart in the second half, robbing them of any chance of a victory in Australia.

Coach Mario Ledesma is well aware of this and will undoubtedly spend the next fortnight leading up to the Springbok fixture working on these aspects, but their weakness may well be the one target area the Boks can look to, to gain an advantage over a side they have struggled against traditionally since their entry into the Rugby Championship.

Ledesma pinpointed the weakness and said the Pumas would need to rectify it before they face the Boks, especially given the strength of the South African setpieces.

"Opportunities were there... and we lost the game by six points (but) my concern was much more the set-piece, the scrum in the first half and the lineout in the second half," he after the game.

"I thought we were clearly dominated. It's really difficult at this level for our set-piece, without quality ball, to win the game."

"It's almost weird," he added. "We were pretty clinical in lineouts and our scrum was good last week (against New Zealand), but it's not alarming."

The difference between the two sides in the set-piece is pretty stark at the moment, and while the Boks also have work-ons in the set-piece, they will see the value of attacking the Pumas there to gain an ascendancy in the game.

Part of the question-marks for Rassie Erasmus is just who he picks to go up against the Pumas in Salta, especially as some of the so-called fringe players have certainly made their mark in the opening two games.

The tight five is one area where the traditional selection hasn’t looked as good as it could have looked while some of the fringe players have certainly put their hands up.

And to get the right mix going forward will be key to success in Salta, especially with the very real prospect of taking the Rugby Championship title for the first time in a decade.

There can be no argument that the reserve front row finished stronger than the starters in the Wellington test, and coupled with their performance in Johannesburg against the Wallabies, the Bok management needs to decide just who should start in Salta?

Does Erasmus reward form and go with the veteran Beast Mtawarira and Trevor Nyakane or does he keep the faith in Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe, the latter who looked to be struggling as the game in Wellington went on.

Both Mtawarira and Nyakane looked good when they came on in Wellington and steadied a scrum that looked to be losing ground to the All Blacks at a crucial time in the game.

And both have had decent Super Rugby seasons, underlining their ability to take the step up and be consistent, and giving Erasmus more than just food for thought.

But here’s the crux for the Bok coach. While it is a fan’s favourite to say one player is playing better than the other and form should always be rewarded, Erasmus's job is to make sure that his depth is as strong as it can be and that all the players in his squad push each other for places. While this is happening at the moment, the last thing that the Bok coach would want to happen is to see one front row lose confidence and form at the same time going into a World Cup.

So while it will be important to reward form, the Boks will want both Kitshoff and Malherbe to find that form and dominance again ahead of the World Cup.

Weighing this up against the need to win with a bonus point to claim the Championship will also pose a selection poser for Erasmus.

At the same time, the Boks will know that while Malcolm Marx is still undoubtedly one of the best hookers in the world, Bongi Mbonambi’s performances in the two tests will not have gone unnoticed, especially for the passion and fire that he brings to the party.

Marx struggled early on in the Wellington test with his lineout throws and while it may have just been a timing issue, there has always been a question-mark over this lineouts while in the loose he has few critics.

Plus there is also the x-factor that the third hooker Schalk Brits brings to the party. With a bonus point in mind, Erasmus will perhaps want some explosive running off the bench and this could well bring Brits also into the frame when the selection process is discussed.

At lock for Erasmus, the choice is not simply who are the best combinations, but who to leave out of a team that has an overflow of engine room personnel.

Lood de Jager looked good against Australia and Eben Etzebeth’s performance in both tests perhaps hints that Erasmus sees him as claiming the No 4 spot in the team.

With Pieter-Steph du Toit’s never-say-die attitude and engine that keeps on running no matter what the challenge, pencilled in at flank, the addition of Marvin Orie to the squad this week makes the debate even more interesting.

RG Snyman had 29 minutes of rugby but also possesses an x-factor and an offload game that is unusual for a lock forward. His lineouts are strong and he is a rising star in the Bok team that had a good Super Rugby season, while Franco Mostert certainly didn’t disappoint in his performance in Wellington and brought enough passion and fire to place himself firmly in the mix for Salta.

But given the technical study that the Boks put into their preparation, the selection will probably be a mix of looking ahead to the World Cup while focusing on the individual strengths they will encounter in Salta.

Either way the Pumas have given the Boks an opening, one which they will desperately try to fix in the coming weeks. And one which the Boks will definitely target.

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