Of the 40 players currently training with the Springboks in Pretoria, no fewer than 18 of them are over 30 years old.
That gives you an average of 45 percent.
If you jot down a Springbok starting XV without giving it much thought, you’d probably have Willie le Roux (33) at fullback, Damian de Allende (31) at inside centre, the 31-year-old Faf de Klerk at scrumhalf, some might pencil in 36-year-old Duane Vermeulen at No.8, Pieter-Steph du Toit (30) and Siya Kolisi (31) on the sides of the scrum.
The #Springboks have included Kolbe, Esterhuizen, Pollard, Wiese, Du Preez, Nyakane and Koch in their @CastleLagerSA #RugbyChampionship training squad - more here: https://t.co/dEAYL7p7Bh 💥#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/bmQbonrCd8
— Springboks (@Springboks) June 10, 2023
In the tight five, Lood de Jager (30) and Eben Etzebeth (31) will play in the second row, while the front row of Frans Malherbe (32), Bongi Mbonambi (32) and Steven Kitshoff are all 31.
That is a lot of over 30s.
What’s more is that a number of them are playing in Japan.
Ask most South Africans - apart from the ones in the game that get sent recordings - about the form of Le Roux, De Allende, De Klerk, Du Toit and De Jager and they won’t be able to tell you.
Add over 30s such as Kwagga Smith and Franco Mostert as well as 29-year-old Jesse Kriel, who all ply their trade in Japan, to the mix and I can honestly say that coach Jacques Nienaber and his team have their work cut out.
I took it a step further and looked at our Rugby World Cups in years gone by.
In 1995 when South Africa first won the William Webb Ellis trophy, there were only three over 30s in the run-on XV - prop Balie Swart (31), lock Kobus Wiese (31) and fullback Andre Joubert (31).
The victorious team of 2007 had only two over 30s in the run-on team for the final - Percy Montgomery (33) and Victor Matfield (30).
My case gets stronger when you look at 2011 and 2015.
Peter de Villiers’ 2011 team had five over 30s when they went down to Australia in the quarterfinal - Gurthro Steenkamp (30), John Smit (33), Danie Rossouw (33) Victor Matfield (34) and Jean de Villiers (30).
Heyneke Meyer’s class of 2015 that lost to New Zealand in the semifinal also had five over 30s - Tendai Mtawarira (30) Bismarck du Plessis (31), Francois Louw (30) Schalk Burger (32) and Fourie du Preez (33).
In 2019 when this current crop beat England 32-12 in the final, only Mtawarira (34) and Le Roux (30) were over 30 in the starting XV.
You get the picture?
While I understand that experience will play a vital role in this competition and I’m all for having the ouer manne in and around the squad, history suggests we shouldn’t start with five or more over 30s in crunch games.
Having said this, if the likes of Du Toit, Le Roux, De Klerk and all those guys we haven’t seen in a while prove that playing fewer games domestically in Japan has you ageing backwards, then bring on the ou manne and pack their bags for Paris.
OVER 30s IN BOK CAMP
Props: Steven Kitshoff (31), Vincent Koch (33), Frans Malherbe (32), Trevor Nyakane (34).
Hookers: Bongi Mbonambi (32).
Locks: Lood de Jager (30), Eben Etzebeth (31), Marvin Orie (30).
Loose-forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (30), Siya Kolisi (31), Kwagga Smith (30), Duane Vermeulen (36).
Utility Forwards: Deon Fourie (36), Franco Mostert (32).
Scrumhalves: Faf de Klerk (31), Cobus Reinach (33).
Centres: Damian de Allende (31).
Outside back: Willie le Roux (33).