The Boks reverting back to the 5-3 bench split used by most teams around the world is an interesting decision.
since their Rugby Championship match against Australia in August last year, where he picked up a knee injury, before a calf injury later in 2022 has hampered him since as he has played little club rugby.Thus starting against Tonga will be a big challenge for him, with Nienaber believing that he won’t be able to get through the full 80 minutes, necessitating the extra backline replacement on the bench.
“That’s why we went with a five-three split . If you look at Handre, he hasn’t played top-level club rugby since the first weekend in May,” explained Nienaber.
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