Nick Mallett's post-July assessment of the Springboks is broadly positive — particularly on forward depth — but he identifies lock as the one position that could unravel if injuries compound. With Etzebeth (concussion), De Jager and Mostert both carrying knocks, Mallett warns that Nortje, Cobus Wiese and Van Heerden are capable but the safety net is thinner there than anywhere else in the pack. Contrast that with loose forward and front row, where he rates the squad depth as genuinely world-class — and singles out debutant Paul de Villiers as not just an impressive July performer across all three Tests, but a future Springbok captaincy candidate. On the Feinberg-Mngomezulu question, Mallett's logic is that if Erasmus is taking injured players to Argentina to keep them in the environment, there's no sensible reason to ship SFM off to the Stormers — he expects him to stay in the Bok tent regardless of whether he plays in Buenos Aires.