Deon Davids’ fingers crossed for no ‘lock crisis’ ahead of Springboks’ Test season

Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids is crossing his fingers that their lock stocks remain healthy for the international season.

The world champions will play 15 Tests – two still need to be confirmed – this year, and after having a minor lock crisis last season due to injuries, Davids is hopeful that things will look better in 2025.

Through last year’s struggles, especially at No 5 lock, the Bulls’ lineout caller Ruan Nortjé made a name for himself at the highest level, but the same Nortjé is currently out with an injury.

The Boks will have the likes of RG Snyman, Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager available – they are all fit and firing at the moment, and Nortjé should be back in action for the Bulls in April.

Bok coach Rassie Erasmus also said on Wednesday that Eben Etzebeth, who has been sidelined with concussion, should be able to play at some stage this year.

South Africa will play Italy in two Tests and Georgia in one, while a festival match against the Barbarians has also been scheduled for mid-year to kick-start the season.

“We had a couple of challenges last year when it came to the lock and hooker position,” Davids, who is responsible for the lineouts, said on Wednesday.

“A lot of the injured guys are on the right track now. But I am sitting here with my fingers crossed. Lood and Franco are doing well over in Japan. The local guys like Ruan and Salmaan (Moerat) took their opportunities. Salmaan picked things up defensively when Eben (Etzebeth) was not playing.

“We are in a fortunate place with depth in that position. We look forward to having all those guys back on the park to start doing things as we see it. The coaches have already analysed and reviewed our game, and the opposition we will face this year.”

According to Davids, you must be critical of where you are and where you can go if you want to stay ahead in the game. He added that the lineout remains his responsibility, but the ideas and knowledge shared among the coaches, even in his department, can only assist the team.

“I will always do the attacking and defensive analysis from a lineout point of view, but then sit down with the team leaders and decide the best plan looking ahead.”

The Boks have added former assistant Felix Jones to their management and now boast a stellar lineup of coaches as they target another win at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

Davids said that the crossover between the coaches, where they don’t just focus on one area of their specialties but share input on other aspects of the game-plan, adds to their success.

The Springbok management doesn’t see it as a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

“You must use that knowledge if you want to stay ahead (of your opponents) and if you want to be creative. Having various people’s input makes you better as a coach.

“You don’t just view a lineout from one perspective. You are not boxed in with one technical thing, but see the entire picture. It’s great to share those ideas of how you can maul better or outsmart the opposition. We see those in our results.”

Last season, the Boks were quite creative off their lineouts, pulling off different variations that even saw winger Cheslin Kolbe throw-in at a lineout and the side catching opponents unawares with some plays.

The expectation is that they will continue on this track when the new season starts in a couple of months.