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Rassie Erasmus warns Bok rookies what awaits them on upcoming tour
By Josh Raisey
South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus has said that there are “several unlucky players” who have missed out on selection for their tour of the United Kingdom in November.
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Such is the world champions’ much-vaunted strength in depth that plenty of quality players were inevitably going to miss out on the 34-man squad, even with injuries to the likes of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Salmaan Moerat, Steven Kitshoff, Faf de Klerk and Lood de Jager.
Having fielded 49 different players in a green jersey this year, with plenty of debuts, there are no uncapped players in this current squad, but there remains a number of players that are still green behind the ears on the Test scene.
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But Erasmus feels there is a “healthy mix” of young and old in the squad, who will face Scotland, England and Wales in November.
“There’s no doubt that there are several unlucky players who could easily have made the touring squad, but unfortunately we could only select 34 players,” said Erasmus.
“That said, this squad includes a healthy mix of youth and experience, with most of these players having made a strong statement in the Springbok jersey this year.”
To the players that have made their Springboks bow this year, Erasmus has issued a warning of what they can expect in the United Kingdom next month.
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The World Cup-winning coach not only mentioned that the style of rugby is different from what they experienced in The Rugby Championship, but the conditions will be different too.
He said: “The Castle Lager Outgoing Tour is always a tough test because it marks the end of our international season and the beginning of their season.
“That said, the November internationals always present a good challenge for us because the teams we will line up against are among the top sides in the world and they play a different brand of rugby to that which we faced in the Rugby Championship, which we enjoy because it tests us in a different way and allows us to grow as a team.
“The conditions in the northern hemisphere are also different, which is a new challenge altogether, but we are excited about the tour and to see if we can build on what has been a rewarding season for the team so far.”
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This challenge is perhaps not as great as it once was for previous generations of Springboks as many of the players are inured to the stylistic differences from playing in the United Rugby Championship.
All four South African franchises in the URC have already played in either Wales or Scotland this season, so the culture shock may not be as impactful.
“Our Vodacom URC teams have all travelled to the northern hemisphere already, so many of these players have been exposed to the conditions and as well as some of the players they will face in November, which is certainly beneficial to us,” he added.
“But that said, international rugby is a completely different kettle of fish and that always brings the best out of the teams, so we know it will take a massive effort to win over there.”
So the clown of world rugby continues to entrench his reputation. I suppose that when your best match winning people on the park are all employed by WR it comes naturally to make inane, puerile comments. Getting boring now.
Moerat would not likely have been selected. I'd rather pick Cheslin at lock than do-nothing Moerat.
What rookies? This is a squad that has failed miserably at blooding talent. More of the same..
You high? SA blooded way more than any other nation.
There's nothing "failed" about anything Rassie has done. The words "failed miserably" are totally incompatible with Rassie's record. Plenty of opportunities to blood rookies v Italy and Georgia next year.
It'll honestly be fascinating to see what happens over the next few years.
The impression I get is that SA had a golden generation, and very few world class young players coming through. Erasmus has very little choice but to keep plugging away with the same group of 30-somethings, especially while they keep getting results, but as their bodies start properly breaking down we'll see a return to 2016-2017 levels of mediocrity.
If I'm wrong, Rassie might just be hoping for a repeat of 2019, where a load of inexperienced guys were brought in right before the world cup and still managed to gel together in time to win the whole thing. The difference this time though won't just be the difference in talent, but in the fact that in 2019 SA were able to win through defence and set piece, while in 2027 the best teams are likely to rely more heavily on their attack, which is the hardest piece of the puzzle for teams that are lacking in cohesion.
What a great position to be in, being spoilt for choice. Let's hope the clicking happens for these players, otherwise there'll be a whole lot of clacking.