Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber is confident his new halfback pairing of Jaden Hendrikse and Frans Steyn will produce the goods against Argentina at Kings Park on Saturday.
Up for grabs is a shot at the Rugby Championship title, with South Africa currently in second place - level on points with New Zealand in first - with an inferior points difference.
Nienaber’s team will know exactly what they have to do to win the trophy when they kick off at 5.05pm on, with New Zealand hosting Australia earlier in the day at 9.05am.
With wet underfoot conditions expected in Durban, Nienaber will rely on two men who know the surface well - Sharks No.9 Hendrikse and former Sharks utility back Steyn at flyhalf.
Having never started a match as a combination, there are 13 years separating the 22-year-old Hendrikse and Steyn, 35.
Such is the rise of the nine-cap scrumhalf that at the start of the year, he was behind Faf de Klerk, Herschel Jantjies and Cobus Reinach in the pecking order.
But he is now number one choice, with Nienaber saying: “Jaden is our in form scrumhalf and has been putting up really good performances for us in the last couple of weeks.
“Faf [de Klerk] had an opportunity against NZ but suffered a concussion early on and Jaden has put in solid performances since then. He’s almost cemented himself [in the starting XV].”
Of the veteran outside him, Nienaber says: “He [Steyn] is experienced, he’s played here before - he played for the Sharks. If it is a wet-weather game, he is a nice guy to have in the team.”
While they might be relatively green on the one hand and old on the other, both players have the composure to make this combination work from the off, as SA go on the hunt for a first Rugby Championship trophy since 2019.
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za