In LondonSpringbok coach Jacques Nienaber may have been tempted to give flyhalf Manie Libbok a start in the highly pressurised environment of an England Test at Twickenham on Saturday, but the form of Damian Willemse ultimately made the decision for him.
The Boks will meet the Roses for the 45th time on Saturday and with Libbok coming through very well in his first two Tests where he came off the bench, the temptation was there to give him a run despite the tough nature of the opposition.The reversion to Willemse though was expected, especially with Willemse being sturdy at 10 in the three Tests in the position on the tour.READ | Bok coach Nienaber unpacks life without banned Rassie: 'We did that for a year'Nienaber's vote of confidence in Willemse was overwhelming, but with Libbok also fitting in like a glove in the Bok system, the coach was suddenly spoilt for choice in what was a problematic position at the start of the tour."Were we tempted?
I think Damian has been doing well at 10 and he's driving the team forward," Nienaber said. "He's also getting good experience at 10."We know he can do it for us at 10 and 15, so it's nice to have him and Manie."15 Willie le Roux, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox NcheSubstitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Canan MoodieNienaber moved from cautiously speaking about Libbok's ability ahead of his France debut to being excited at what the 25-year-old from Humansdorp