Rassie in for tough choices
ERASMUS: SPRINGBOK COACH HAS TO WEIGH UP ALL THE PERMUTATIONS
No players who are based in England or France are available.
National coach Rassie Erasmus might be caught between a rock and a hard place when he ponders his lock and backrow combinations for this weekend’s England Test at Twickenham.
The selection conundrum in the build-up to the clash had been caused by the absence of lock Franco Mostert, who had played a lot of rugby at international and domestic level this season, and Erasmus had to decide whether to change just one or both of the positions.
If he kept Pieter-Steph du Toit at blindside flank, he could bring Lood de Jager in, but if he moved Du Toit back to lock he would need to look for a new blindside flank which could be Duane Vermeulen, though he was more at home in the No 8 position.
Erasmus, however, felt they had a lot of good options in the second row.
“Franco is a great player and he has started most of the Tests for us this year, and he will be missed,” Erasmus said.
“We are fortunate that we have someone such as Pieter-Steph du Toit, who has a lot of experience playing there, while thankfully Lood de Jager is fit again and RG Snyman is also in the squad, so we have some options to fill that position.”
Though none of the Bok players based in England or France were available, Erasmus could pick the players who were based in Japan as the international window did not affect them.
That meant Willie le Roux, Faf de Klerk, Francois Louw and Cheslin Kolbe could not be considered for selection.
“None of the players who play in the Premiership are available, and neither are the players who play their club rugby in France,” Erasmus confirmed.
The Boks lost 37-21 to England at Twickenham last year, and they went down 25-10 in the third and last Test of their home tour at Newlands in June, but the Boks have a 70% win record at Twickenham and also a 70% win ratio in their last 10 Tests against England.
“Playing against England, under pressure in a full stadium, will be a new experience for some of the players and it will provide me with some good answers,” Erasmus said.
“The English are good and physical. They are strong in the mauls and set phases, as well as on defence.
“They can vary their game and that’s the biggest lesson we learnt from our defeat in Cape Town in June.”
Van der Merwe unfortunate to miss out on autumn Tests.
Having received some criticism for the decision, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has defended his choice to stick with veteran Schalk Brits at hooker, after leaving in-form Sharks player Akker van der Merwe out in the cold for their end-ofyear tour to Europe.
Former Bok and Scotland hooker John Allan described the decision as “a disgrace” but Erasmus said there was a bigger objective, insisting Van der Merwe remained part of their long-term plans.
Brits, at 37, recently signed a new contract with the Stormers, but his call-up, as well as that of 36-year-old fullback Gio Aplon, had been met with plenty of scepticism.
“There are young props in the squad that need leadership and Malcolm (Marx) and Bongi (Mbonambi) are not older or experienced hookers,” Erasmus explained.
“You need that experience and I also think Schalk is the right choice for a tour in Europe.”
Brits was being used in a mentorship role, and with his experience of playing in Britain, he was also being employed in a coaching role.
“It does not mean that Akker or any other hookers won’t get a chance of going to (next year’s) World Cup,” Erasmus said.
The squad had probably already been picked before last week’s Currie Cup final in Cape Town, where Van der Merwe was named Man-of-the-Match, as the players going on tour had to be advised beforehand that they had to board the plane soon after the final whistle.
Another factor, according to Erasmus, was that Van der Merwe had not always been the first choice No 2 at the Sharks, and it was only after scrumhalf Louis Schreuder took over the captaincy from Chiliboy Ralepelle that he became a regular starter in Robert du Preez’s side.
“I also think we must not put too much opinion on the basis of one Currie Cup game,” Erasmus said.