Rassie Erasmus says the Springboks are well positioned ahead of a demanding season, but that depth will be key if injuries strike.
The world champions are gearing up for an epic season that includes the new Nations Championship and the much-anticipated four-Test Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks. In total, the Boks will play 13 Tests this year, as well as a non-cap Barbarians match.
Erasmus, who called up 49 players for a Springbok alignment camp in Cape Town this week, was asked on Monday about selection plans for the season.
“I think we’re OK,” he said. “We’ve always said that about 18 months out from a World Cup you know who will probably make it and who won’t. We definitely know much more now than we did 48 or 36 months ago.”
FLANNERY: Boks are evolving, not coasting
The Boks play the Barbarians in Gqeberha on 20 June before launching their Nations Championship campaign against England at Ellis Park on 4 July. That is followed by two more home Nations Championship matches against Scotland at Loftus in Pretoria and Wales at Kings Park in Durban, before attention shifts to the Greatest Rivalry series.
“We know we’re playing top, top teams this year,” Erasmus said, before being asked how many players might feature this season.
RASSIE: Succession planning key for Boks
“Maybe we’ll use 51 again, maybe 57, maybe 33. It depends how the year unfolds. But at Test level, we will always go out to try and win.
“If we keep winning, continuity helps. We even tell the team that if things go our way this weekend, this is probably the team that will play next weekend – with a caveat that if we lose momentum, we can change.
“The big thing we’re trying very hard to do behind the scenes, with SA Rugby and the franchises’ help, is to make sure that in every position we can afford to have five or six players go down.”
OBERHOLZER: SA won’t host RWC again
Erasmus pointed to the example of Stephen Donald, who was drafted in by the All Blacks as emergency cover during the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand after their three first-choice flyhalves were ruled out, and kicked the winning penalty against France in the final.
“We are not saying all of those guys will have played come the end of the year, but in terms of succession planning, hopefully the guys are in place,” Erasmus added.
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
The post Rassie plans for every scenario appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
