Under-fire Springbok hooker Joseph Dweba has been given a golden opportunity prove his doubters wrong when he starts ahead of the in-form Malcolm Marx against the Wallabies in Adelaide on Saturday.
How Dweba fares in this Castle Lager Rugby Championship Test will be a fascinating sub plot in what promises to be an engrossing Test.
Both teams are coming off defeats and will be desperate to reignite their hopes of lifting the trophy in round three of the competition.
The Boks have a poor record in Australia and their last win over the Wallabies was recorded in 2013 when they won in Brisbane.
Dweba’s selection against the All Blacks in Johannesburg and for Saturday’s Test ahead of Marx has been a hot potato for the Bok coaches to deal with.
Nienaber whipped up the frenzy when he said after the All Blacks defeat that there was a rugby reason for Dweba’s selection but added that it was “privileged”.
In the second Test against New Zealand, Dweba was only on the field for 30 minutes before being replaced after an unconvincing display.
“We see the starting and bench front rows as units and not necessarily that so and so is number one,” Nienaber said.
“There’s a tactical and technical reason as to why we select them in the way that we do.
“We wouldn’t like to go into too much detail and give away our game plan.
“There’s a reason for that and the players know it.
“So long as they know and buy into it, it’s an open and honest discussion in terms of how we do things.
“The players are happy and comfortable with it and so are we.
“When we say privileged things (regarding selection), there are some things that a coach discusses with a player and we ask them if they’d want that discussion to come out in the media. They say ‘no’.
“They want the conversation to stay between us, and that’s what we call privilege.
“We want to be as open and transparent as possible, but there are some game-related matters that we don’t want out in the media.
“I may have been wrong to say it was privilege, but it was because those conversations can vary into a lot of things.
“The players will tell you we’re open and honest, but we have to be guarded about our tactics.
“There are certain tactical boxes that the guys have to tick before the start of a particular Test match and the players know the goals they need to achieve,” Nienaber said.
“Sometimes, they achieve them in 35 minutes, and sometimes they achieve them in 20 minutes.
“If we feel it is the right time tactically, then we’ll make the substitution, but where we’re different from other teams is that we don’t see the starting pack and the bench as two groups.
“We see them as a unit that gives us a tactical advantage.”
Bok assistant coach Deon Davids said it was important for Dweba to gain experience in high-pressure situations.
“We’re glad for the opportunity that Dweba got in the All Blacks game,” he said.
“When you look at the contribution he makes in different departments, that is as important for us just as throwing, scrumming or kicking is important.
“If you look at these games and the pressure situations, a hooker will always be in a situation where they make a loose throw here and there.
“We’re just glad he got an opportunity to play against such a quality side in such pressure conditions and do well.
“That’s the reason we are looking forward to him getting another opportunity to build his experience against great teams.”
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