Boks are ‘well covered’, says Rassie Erasmus after ringing the changes for Wallabies Test
· Citizen
Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus has backed his much-changed Springbok team to do the business when they take on the Wallabies in a one-off Test at Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday.
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The Boks have made 13 changes to their starting side from the team that turned out in the final Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test against the All Blacks in Baltimore a week-and-a-half ago.
Despite the number of changes it is still a very experienced squad, and other than them needing to try and gel, with many having not played much rugby recently, Erasmus believes they have what it takes to pick up the win they are looking for.
Well covered
“I think we are well covered. I think the average age of the guys who are starting is about 28 and the guys off the bench 29. The average caps is between 35 and 40. So I think with making so many changes, we are in a fortunate position that we have rotated a lot over the last couple of years,” Erasmus said.
“The big thing is trying to maintain a winning culture while rotating and luckily we have (largely) done that. Obviously there have been some stages where we couldn’t, but if you look at this team, I think it’s a very mobile team.
“Especially our forward pack, with our front row of Jan-Hendrik (Wessels), Grobbies (Johan Grobbelaar), and Zach (Porthen). We know what Eben (Etzebeth) brings, he is always fit.
“With Franco (Mostert), Paul (De Villiers) and Elrigh (Louw), they are guys that will have to match Australia in the way they defend and fill the field, and through how they like to keep the ball alive through structure.
“In the backline Aphelele (Fassi) has proved himself over and over. Edwill (van der Merwe) fully deserves his chance. Canan (Moodie) and Andre (Esterhuizen) have done some great things for us together as a centre combination.”
Although the starting side has changed dramatically, the bench is fully stacked with first team regulars who featured extensively in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, and Erasmus explained that there were a few more guys who fronted up against the All Blacks who also could have been called upon for this match.
Other players
“It was tough not to give a guy like Cameron (Hanekom) another run. But he understands what the plan is for us during the end-of-year tour (in November). We could have played Siya (Kolisi), Damian Willemse, Cobus Reinach, there are couple of guys that we could have put in the team,” said Erasmus.
“If you look at the bench the only guy that hasn’t had a solid chance is Quan Horn. But other than that we feel that seven of the eight (replacements) can bring stability and security if things aren’t going well.
“And Quan has shown us he can play at 10, 12, 15 and even on the wing, so we feel this is a well-balanced team. But it doesn’t matter what team we pick, Australia will always be a challenge.”
Erasmus added that the decision to rotate the starting team extensively for the Wallabies match was made before the last All Blacks Test, regardless of the result of that game.
“We had already decided that win or lose in the fourth Test match against New Zealand (in Baltimore) that we would give the guys that had helped us through that series a proper opportunity,” said Erasmus.
“There were some situations when players had injuries, and others had really close calls in not getting opportunities. So I think there are only nine players from the last match involved in this one.”