Boks on tour: 6 points to ponder for Nienaber and Co

The Springbok tour of Europe, which starts on Saturday when they face Ireland at the Aviva Stadium, will pose several questions that coach Jacques Nienaber and SA Rugby director of rugby Rassie Erasmus will have to answer.

Why is the tour important for Nienaber?

The Springboks have again shown signs of concerning inconsistency to the point where winning three games on the bounce was seen as an achievement. Those matches were against Australia (once) and Argentina (twice).

However, the matches that could have and should have swung the Rugby Championship firmly in SA's favour were the ones they lost in Johannesburg and Adelaide.

That meant the Boks ended up chasing their tails unsuccessfully in Durban as the All Blacks created a decent enough points buffer, which they knew could be above the Boks' order if one looked at how points-shy the Boks were.

Why is this tour so important for Nienaber?

Ireland and France have been in ascendant form and also showed the attacking cutting edge that's been missing from the Boks, especially against New Zealand.

Ireland and France have both beaten the All Blacks, with the Irish doing so home and away, so they'll size up the Boks as fair game.

What do the Boks stand to lose if they don't do well on the tour?

Nienaber's role as the team coach will come under further scrutiny, especially with the fact that Erasmus is now handling media duties as the director of rugby.

Nienaber, especially this year, has grown into the head coaching role and speaks with the assurance of a person who is in charge. However, the SA Rugby public has always had a belief that it's Erasmus who is the point person.

After his refereeing video that picked apart Nic Berry's performance in the first British & Irish Lions Test,