Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus believes Bulls bruiser Cobus Wiese has a big future at the Springboks because of his sheer bulk, skill, and ability to play in the second and back rows.
The 28-year-old younger brother of No 8 Jasper ticks all the boxes for Erasmus and in the future could be a vital pillar in the Bok engine room.
Wiese last year returned to South Africa after five years with the Sale Sharks and has been a significant part of a Bulls team that have been United Rugby Championship finalist for two years in a row.
Erasmus called Wiese up to the Bok squad in 2018 but did not play him. Wiese, who was playing for the Stormers at that time, left for England in 2020.
Erasmus says the respect Wiese enjoys from his teammates is telling.
“When a guy talks to Wilco Louw and asks how it feels when that guy (Cobus) scrums behind you, and you talk to the other props, and they all rate him highly, it means a lot,” the coach said of the strapping 1.97m, 117kg Wiese.
“He has that physical attribute that can generate momentum for his team and stop the opposition’s momentum. Jake (White uses hi brilliantly at the Bulls and it stands out,” Erasmus said.
“He left for England young (he was 22). That made it hard to pick him. He’s a big guy. Jake uses him to kick start momentum and stop it. We’d like him to do exactly what he does for Jake.”
“He can play four and seven,” added Erasmus, who loves versatile players. “Also, he sometimes calls the lineout signals at the Bulls. That opens up our options quite a bit.”
Erasmus said players who can switch between flank and lock are priceless.
“At the beginning of the season there are usually a lot of locks and then towards the end of it we are a bit thin on locks. Take out Eben (Etzebeth), Jean (Kleyn), Lood (de Jager), Salmaan (Moerat) and RG (Snyman), then you have players like Sous (Franco Mostert), Cobus, JL (Jean-Luc du Preez), and Vincent (Tshituka), who are all swingers, meaning they can play lock and flank.”
“This helps a lot if we want to play around with teams,” the coach said. “If we maintain winning momentum, we would like to give players caps. Cobus falls into that versatile group of players.
“It opens up the options,” Erasmus explained, adding: “Siya (Kolisi) can play at No8, Kwagga (Smith) can play No 6, Marco van Staden can play flank and No 8, and we have Jasper (Wiese) who can play at No.8.
Erasmus has reduced his 55-man squad to 45 for the second week of the training camp under way in Johannesburg.
The Bulls players invited to the camp will join their teammates on Tuesday.
