Behind the scrum depth is growing but scrumhalf and the perfect centre pairing remain thorny issues.
De Klerk is the best halfback the Boks have‚ but his performances‚ which were immense against England in June‚ tailed off later in the year. Neither Ivan van Zyl‚ nor Embrose Papier took full advantage of their limited chances.
Am’s injury early in the Rugby Championship allowed Jesse Kriel a decent run in the outside centre channel and he had his moments.
But his partnership with Damian de Allende misfired as much as it purred. Jan Serfontein’s return at inside centre could be the missing backline piece.
Dyantyi and Nkosi are lethal finishers and well ahead of the next best. But they were occasionally exposed on defence.
Bok defence coach Jacques Nienaber is not concerned though‚ because he always maintained his defensive blueprint would take more than a season to bed down.
“We are making progress and although we are nowhere near where we want to be‚ we are heading in the right direction‚” Kolisi said.