Rassie’s oldies not necessarily Springbok goldies

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has done plenty right since taking over the pressure job but he’s digging a hole for himself that might be difficult to get out of.

His handling of reserve and bench players has left plenty to be desired and he might find himself with disheartened and undercooked reserves by the time the Japan World Cup rolls around in 2019.

Some might say this is splitting hairs after the success against the All Blacks in Wellington and the Wallabies in Port Elizabeth. But there have been glaring man-management deficiencies that must be pointed out while they can be fixed.

Ahead of this weekend’s mammoth battle against the Kiwis, Erasmus called up Francois Louw and plugged him straight into the starting lineup at No 8, ahead of a recognised eighthman Sikhumbuzo Notshe.

While Notshe may not have set the world alight against Australia the weekend prior, he put in an admirable shift and was part of South Africa’s best period of the game – the first 45 minutes before his tank ran dry. He tackled his heart out and was flawless with ball retention.

Though he got his first starting cap and debut cap under Erasmus, signs are that the level of trust in players like Notshe, Marco van Staden and Ambrose Papier is quickly waning.

We’ve watched idly as overseas-based players have gobbled up game time in this Rugby Championship, while our supposed back-up players stew cold on the bench.

Last weekend, Papier, Elton Jantjies and Damian Willemse were as much spectators as we were after going unused.

Erasmus is quick to run to the oldies who aren’t necessarily goldies. I’ve not seen anything that Louw has brought to the party in the whole Rugby Championship and he was culpable for a couple of defensive lapses in the defeat to Argentina in Mendoza earlier in the tournament.

Halfback Faf de Klerk has eaten up almost all of the game minutes in the tournament, with Papier only accounting for 15 minutes international game time prior to the game against the All Blacks.

At the back, Willie le Roux was pried from his club to join the Springboks for the home leg of the tournament, likely at considerable cost to the mother body, SA Rugby.

Willemse could have relished a chance to try his hand at 15.

Yes, there are still matches against France, Scotland and Wales during the end-of-year tour but time is certainly running out.

Contrast that with what Steve Hansen has done with New Zealand.

Even though it proved costly against the Boks in Wellington, Hansen threw Jordie Barrett in the deep end, moving Ben Smith to wing and taking out Waisake Naholo to accommodate him.

The same was done to blood Scott Barrett and now the dividends are paying off.

Hansen’s genius lies in clawing his players out of their comfort zones. Aaron Smith, undoubtedly the best scrumhalf in the world, has not been given time to relax in the role, because TJ Perenara has been given almost as much time on the field.

Perenara played 50th game last weekend and Aaron Smith is just 28 caps ahead of him. The pair have racked up 128 caps, something the Boks can only dream of.

If Rassie was the All Black coach, Smith would have had 120 of those caps and Perenara two. And that’s the difference between a world-class manager and one still doing a management bridging course.