Erasmus Keeps Faith

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Wednesday named most of the players who were members of the squad that retained the Freedom Cup in New Zealand last weekend in his 33-man squad for their closing two Castle Lager Rugby Championship matches against Argentina in Durban and London.

The Bok squad will assemble in Durban on Thursday after having a few days off with their families following their return from New Zealand on Sunday night to begin their preparations for the last two matches of the competition. These rounds will decide if the Boks retain the title, or whether a different team will be crowned the champions this year.

The players ruled out of contention for selection were Lood de Jager (lock), Jean-Luc du Preez (loose forward), and Aphelele Fassi (fullback) – who all suffered injuries during the New Zealand tour – as well as Gerhard Steenekamp, Frans Malherbe (both props), Salmaan Moerat (lock), and Kurt-Lee Arendse (utility back), who have been on the injury list for different durations in the last few months.

The squad to face Argentina includes 18 forwards and 15 backline players. The teams will meet at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on Saturday 27 September, and at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, in London on 4 October.

Following medical assessments in camp on Thursday, there is a possibility that a further three players could be added to the group later in the week, with a group of up to 30 players set to travel to London for the final match.

As things stand, the Wallabies are currently on 11 points going into their Bledisloe Cup matches against New Zealand, while the Springboks are in second place, and the All Blacks in third place (both on 10 points), while the Pumas are one point back with nine points – with all four teams having won two of their four matches to date.

“This group of players have been together for over 13 weeks now, and they’ve shown that they are the right players for this big task against the Pumas,” said Erasmus.

“We’ve chopped and changed our squad a fair bit this season, playing a total of 46 players in our last eight matches, including in the Barbarians match, and by training together almost daily, we are confident that these are the players who can give us the best shot to try to retain the title.”

Erasmus added: “The fact that the younger and older guys have been training with one another and against one another on the field almost daily really paid off last weekend, and we have no doubt that if we continue showing our faith in these players, we will get the best out of them.

“The bonus for us is that we still have so many players who have been in the system and attended our alignment camps in the last few seasons, and who have been knocking hard on the door, but unfortunately, we could only select a limited number of players for these matches, so we will continue to keep an eye on the others.”

Erasmus admitted that it was disappointing losing players such as Fassi, De Jager, and Du Preez to injuries, but he was satisfied with the depth they had in the squad.

“We are blessed with talent in South Africa, so as sad as we are for players such as Lood, Jean-Luc, Aphelele, Kurt-Lee, and many others, we have capable guys to fill their boots,” said Erasmus.

“We are also fortunate to have so many versatile players who can play a few different positions, and they are equally adept in each of them, regardless of what position they play.”

Looking forward to the clashes against the Pumas, who moved up to sixth spot on the world rankings following their victory over the Wallabies in Sydney last weekend, Erasmus expected colossal battles against them, and said he had no doubt their victories against Australia, New Zealand, and the British & Irish Lions would fuel their motivation going into these encounters.

“The Pumas are a tough and physical outfit, and they’ll come to South Africa full of confidence after beating Australia 28-26 last weekend and knowing that they beat us in Santiago Del Estero last year, as well as the All Blacks earlier in the competition,” said Erasmus.

“They have quality forwards and backs, and they play with guts and passion, so we know it will take two great performances to beat them and hopefully reclaim the Castle Lager Rugby Championship title.

“The next two games are going to be vital for all four teams because there is so little between them in terms of the way they play, and given how close the standings are. Any team can still win the competition, so there is no margin for error, and every point will count. These are going to be massive battles.”

Springbok squad for the Argentina leg of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship:

Forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Thomas du Toit (Bath), Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Vincent Koch (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Siya Kolisi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).

Backs: Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles), Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers), Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners), Makazole Mapimpi (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers), Morne van den Berg (Lions), Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers), Grant Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks).