Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said on Thursday he planned to continue with the team rotation policy that delivered impressive results last season with 11 victories in 13 Test matches, as he looks to build squad depth and experience with an eye on this season and further ahead to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
The double Rugby World Cup-winning coach made a concerted effort to build his squad in 2024, using 50 players in their 13 Test matches, while capping 12 new players – a system that not only assisted in building his squad for the future, but also ensured the longevity of the more experienced players in the group with an eye on the 2027 international extravaganza in Australia.
Erasmus named nine uncapped players in his 55-man squad for the Qatar Airways Cup clash against the Barbarians on Saturday 28 June and the Castle Lager Incoming Series, which will feature back-to-back Tests against Italy in Pretoria and Gqeberha on 5 and 12 July, and Georgia in Nelspruit a week later on 19 July.
Two of these players, Cobus Wiese (who is playing the Vodacom United Rugby Championship final on Saturday), and Juarno Augustus (who has yet to be medically cleared by his club) were unable to report for duty this week.
The other uncapped players in the group are Marnus van der Merwe, Neethling Fouche, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Renzo du Plessis, Vincent Tshituka, Ethan Hooker, and Ntokozo Makhaza.
“We would like to do something similar to last year, where the senior players and some of the younger players contribute on the field,” said Erasmus. “We have players in the squad who could still play until 2026, but that does not negate the fact that they can still deliver on the field for us.
“We have an eye on the 2027 Rugby World Cup, but our mindset this year will be fixed on trying to win all our matches, while at the same time broadening our squad depth and experience.
“Our goal is to ensure that by the next World Cup, most of the players have more than 15 Test caps.”
Erasmus was pleased with the first week of camp and said: “It has been going well. A few of the younger players are obviously still finding their feet, while the players who have been in the set-up in the last few years have been determined to show that they can maintain their form at this level.”
The Bok coach added that he would reduce the size of his squad next week after taking stock of any further injuries suffered in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Grand Final between the Vodacom Bulls and Leinster at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday evening.
“We will wait to see if there are any injuries from the Vodacom URC final and then announce the group of players on Sunday that will get together next week,” he said.
“That said, it doesn’t mean that those players are the only ones who will be in the mix this year. There are players who are returning from injury within the next few weeks and months, and we would definitely like to see some of the players who have been playing well get a chance this season.”
With their opening match of the season against the Barbarians a little over two weeks away, Erasmus said the focus in the next two weeks and in the match itself will be to get their own structures in place as they prepare for a challenging international season.
“It’s difficult to plan around the Barbarians because they are a team consisting of players from many different countries, so our focus in that match will be our game and what we want to achieve,” he said.
“It will serve as a good opportunity for the players who have returned from Japan to get back into the swing of things, and perhaps to give a few players who have not played Test rugby a feel of what it is to play at this level.”
Reporting on the injuries in the camp, Erasmus revealed that Trevor Nyakane, Frans Malherbe, Deon Fourie, Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom are all nursing long-term injuries, while Gerhard Steenekamp, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Ben-Jason Dixon, Augustus, and Lukhanyo Am have to be cleared medically before they will be available for selection.
Jasper Wiese, Grant Williams and Makazole Mapimpi, who are also carrying niggling injuries, however, are expected to return to action in the coming weeks.
The first week of the training camp will conclude on Friday, with the players reassembling in Johannesburg on Sunday for another week of preparation before departing to Cape Town for the Barbarians match.
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