- Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber admits their final World Cup squad selection meeting will be 'difficult' after a strong win over Argentina on Saturday.
- Virtually the whole match-day squad put up their hands, with Canan Moodie and Andre Esterhuizen in particular now proving headaches in terms of who'll make the cut.
- Stand-in skipper Bongi Mbonambi praises his team-mates for their mental steel during the match.
While there's still a distinct sense that the Springboks won't assemble a World Cup squad with many surprises, head coach Jacques Nienaber admitted that the sheer number of fine showings in Saturday's 24-13 victory over Argentina has presented him with a welcome headache.
"It's going to be a very difficult team selection meeting," he said.
"A lot of guys put their hands up. Out of the 38 who've featured to date, all of them made their mark."
Most of the interesting selection dilemmas lie in the backline, where Canan Moodie and Andre Esterhuizen have muddied the waters considerably.
20-year-old Moodie was patently outstanding, delivering a performance brimming with class both on defence and attack.
So compelling was his presence that his Bulls team-mate Kurt-Lee Arendse, until this weekend considered his "direct opponent" in terms of being picked for France, was the only unused substitute on the day.
Makazole Mapimpi, perceived in some quarters to be under pressure, looked far more comfortable after a misfire against the All Blacks and has arguably made his spot on the plane safe.
The other major decision lies with taking Andre Esterhuizen.
READ | Springbok World Cup hopefuls turn the screws on Pumas with rousing comeback victory
Granted two opportunities to impress over the past month, the Harlequins talisman has seized them both and will now be genuinely unlucky to miss out, in contrast to four years ago.
However, Jesse Kriel's excellent stint off the bench and last weekend's showing at Ellis Park still arguably puts him slightly ahead in the race as he's a veteran of the Springbok setup under the current regime.
Esterhuizen could benefit though from Lukhanyo Am's possible misfortune if his leg injury, which saw him replaced at half-time, is confirmed to be more serious.
Nienaber wasn't forthcoming with much of an answer in the aftermath of the game.
"To be honest, I'm not 100% sure [about his status]," said the Bok mentor, who, to be fair, wouldn't have known much anyway as the team departed directly for the airport to be back in time for Tuesday's official squad announcement.
"We just said he can't continue after the knock to his leg. But I'm really not sure about his injury."
Meanwhile, Nienaber praised the character shown by a relatively scratch combination that was captained by Bongi Mbonambi.
Sentiment throughout the week outside of the camp was that the Boks were going to struggle against a home side pumped up on the emotion of Augustin Creevy's 100th Test match.
By the end, such thoughts appeared distinctly unfounded.
READ | Bok ratings: Canan’s mood set a critical tone
"Bongi and the team took charge this week. A lot of people didn't give us a great chance of success in this match and the guys drove the whole process and win," said Nienaber.
"It reminded me again, if the Boks are fully focus on an objective, it's very difficult to stop us."
Mbonambi himself agreed, singling out flyhalf Manie Libbok as epitomising the side's mental fortitude on the day.
"Our mindset here when we arrived was that we knew this was going to be a taxing assignment, especially with Argentina at home," said the combative hooker.
"They would come with passion and emotion. From the get-go, in our first team meeting, we made it clear that we were going to back each other and be aligned. It's exactly what we did.
"Credit to the guys for keeping their heads. We believed things would turn [after the first-half] and it duly proved so. We started taking the points and credit to Manie for not dropping his head after a few misses at goal.
"It just showed, backing each other brings reward."
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Nienaber admits gutsy Bok XV muddies WC selection waters: 'Final meeting will be difficult' - News24
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