Rassie Erasmus wants to give new players a shot at earning a regular place in the Springbok squad, while maintaining the experience of his two-time world champions.
Erasmus named four debutants in the matchday-23 for the Springboks’ opening Test of the year against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.
Five players in the starting XV featured in the same positions in the Rugby World Cup final in October, while there are a further four World Cup winners on the bench.
The Springboks have in the past been hampered by experimenting with new ideas and combinations, so Erasmus is looking forward to seeing a few new caps in action on Saturday, alongside an experienced core of veterans.
“We didn’t have a chance in 2020 to kick on and add some more layers to our game. Then in 2021 we had the British & Irish Lions. We are now fortunate that Covid isn’t here anymore,” Erasmus explained.
“At some stages, we had to throw in 18 or 19 new players, like against Wales in Bloemfontein or away games in Argentina. It wasn’t ideal and we lost most of those Test matches.
“What we are trying to do is to make sure we stay where we are and where we were last year in terms of our core things, like how we play. That’s the most important thing.
“Then with what Tony [Brown, backline coach], Jerry [Flannery, defence coach], Deon [Davids] and Stokke [Mzwandile Stick] are bringing with new ideas, we want to put on top of that.
“If we just throw a bunch of youngsters in, we won’t know if we’ve lost our foundation. This team has been picked on the basis of making sure we are where we were, but also starting to build on top of that.”
Flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse and winger Edwill van der Merwe will make starting debuts for the Pieter-Steph du Toit-captained Boks at Twickenham.
DHL Stormers duo Ben-Jason Dixon and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are the two new faces on the replacements bench.
“Edwill, the way he has been playing and training with the full week, we could see things that we wanted to see,” Erasmus said. “Sacha was with us on the [November] tour in 2022. He got a bit of an injury there. He played the SA A games, but he mainly trained with the Springboks.
“We’ve always rated Jordan as he has come through the ranks. He trained with us the whole week. It does help us to know that we haven’t just picked a guy whose team fell out of the competition on Saturday and he’s only had one training session with us.
“We’ve certainly been looking at Ben-Jason, as well as a few others. Like Pieter-Steph du Toit, he’s a good lineout option, a typical South African flanker. He gets you momentum and stops the opposition’s momentum. He was with us at the alignment camps in Cape Town.
“They have settled in and understood what we are trying to do. We felt that putting them in the mix with experienced guys around them, which we didn’t have the chance to do during Covid, you aren’t throwing them to the wolves.
“Having experienced guys around them, they can take ownership of their job. They don’t have to worry too much about leading. They can do what we picked them for.”
Erasmus added that the debutants have slotted in well with the Springboks, benefitting from having a full week to prepare for the Test.
“There are systems – how you scrum, maul and the defensive system – that you have to get right, that you have to adapt to because the Sharks, Stormers, Bulls and Lions don’t do all those things exactly the same way.
“The message that we’ve tried to get across is, let’s do the thinking and the hard work, the fundamental things, let those come automatically by training. You shouldn’t have a list of 30 things on Saturday that you want to tick off.
“You will learn as much as you can during the week and try and fall in. Then on Saturday, you go and do what you are picked for.
“Edwill has been picked for a certain reason, which is that he goes flat out, he chases lost causes, his communication is really good, he runs hard and he works hard.
“He has to adapt to a bit of a new defensive and attacking system, but when he goes onto the field on Saturday, there shouldn’t be a lot of thinking. He must just be Edwill.
“If we get that mindset right, then every week we can build a little and maybe get that third story, after those two World Cups.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images