Springbok No 8 question looms large as Rassie shows Rugby Championship hand

Kwagga Smith, Jean-Luc du Preez and Cobus Wiese are the frontrunners for the No 8 jersey as Rassie Erasmus looks to plug the Jasper Wiese-shaped hole in the pack

- By Jon Cardinelli

The Springboks ticked all the boxes in the recent internationals, with 46 players receiving game time over the course of the big wins against the Barbarians, Italy and Georgia.

Although the move to blood new players and combinations has bolstered South Africa's depth across most departments, the situation at No 8 has been exacerbated by Jasper Wiese's untimely four-match suspension. This much was confirmed on 23 July, when SA Rugby unveiled a 37-man squad for the first two matches of the Rugby Championship against the Wallabies. As things stand, there are no specialist No 8s in the group.

Jasper Wiese will miss the first three rounds of the southern hemisphere tournament, including the showdown with the All Blacks at Eden Park on 6 September. It's a massive blow for the Boks, who are already without Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom - two outstanding No 8s who have been sidelined with serious leg injuries in recent months.

The two matches against the Wallabies on 16 and 23 August should provide the Boks with an opportunity to settle on a back-row combination and rectify the breakdown issues that compromised their attacking momentum in recent fixtures.

Ultimately, coach Rassie Erasmus will want some answers regarding his best loose trio and No 8 option before the team departs for New Zealand.

Weighing up the options

Although the squad is devoid of specialists, several loose forwards have played No 8 before, for club and country.