Springbok goalkicking conundrum reaching crisis point: What are the options?

In Dublin

The Springboks' goal kicking question will require immediate answering for Saturday's important Test match against France at the Stade Velodrome in Marseilles.

The Boks went into Saturday's 19-16 loss against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium without a recognised goalkicker and they paid the price with a third consecutive defeat in Dublin.

Goalkicking, especially in Europe where the wild swing of conditions often minimises try scoring opportunities, becomes pivotal.

The Boks, having won a European-hosted World Cup when they triumphed in France in 2007 while were semi-finalists in Wales edition of 1999 and the 2015 edition in England, should be aware of goalkicking importance.

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It was Percy Montgomery and Frans Steyn's accurate goalkicking that allowed South Africa to beat England at the Stade de France in the 2007 WOrld Cup final, while Handre Pollard's unerringly accurate boot ensured the Boks navigated tricky business end games against Wales and England in the successful 2019 World Cup assault.

Pollard's form was already flaky when he was invalidated by injury a couple months ago, while Elton Jantjies' personal issues and Steyn's injury-enforced absence means the Boks needed to look elsewhere for a goalkicker ahead of this tour.

One of them was the Loftus Versfeld win against Wales in June where he drilled a last-minute penalty.

However, cracks showed in the 24-8 and 34-22 wins against Australia and Argentina, respectively, where kicks were missed.

With the Boks winning those games, it didn't come as a surprise that those flaws were going to be overlooked.

However, there's no place to hide in Test rugby, which was the case at the Aviva