Rassie rallies foreign legion to revive Boks
“Erasmus wants the ban on overseasbased players representing Boks lifted immediately”
GIVEN South Africa’s ropey results since the last World Cup, including a record 57-0 humiliation at the hands of New Zealand and defeats by Ireland and Wales in the last six months, Rassie Erasmus is facing an uphill slog.
However, Erasmus, who is already South Africa’s director of rugby and is expected to be announced as Springbok coach within the next fortnight, is a man with a plan.
As successor to Allister Coetzee, who was sacked at the start of the month after winning only 11 of 25 Tests (44 per cet), Erasmus wants the current ban on overseas-based South African players representing the Springboks lifted immediately, meaning that he would be free to begin his 2019 World Cup teambuilding now.
The ban is scheduled to apply until 12 months before the tournament before it is relaxed. However, if the flamboyant former Springbok flanker gets his way, the South Africa squad assembled by him to play three Tests against England in June could be considerably stronger than the homebased squad Eddie Jones’ team expected to face.
This would mean Erasmus selecting from strength in a way that Coetzee was unable to for the last six months of his tenure.
It would also result in England being confronted by a Springbok squad which could pick from European-based South African internationals like back rower Duane Vermeulen (Toulon), full-back Willie Le Roux (Wasps), centre Frans Steyn, veteran front rowers Jannie and Bismarck du Plessis, scrum-half Ruan Pienaar, centre Jan Serfontein (all Montpellier), tight-head Vincent Koch (Saracens), loose-head Steven Kitshoff (Bordeaux), flankers Francois Louw (Bath) and Marcell Coetzee (Ulster), fly-half Pat Lambie (Racing 92), scrum-halves Francois Hougaard (Worcester) and Faf de Klerk (Sale), and uncapped No.8 Ruan Ackermann (Gloucester).
Erasmus has already done his homework, with a recent trip to Britain and France used to sound out the availability of the South African internationals playing in the Premiership and Top 14.
He talked soon afterwards about his current brief: “There has been a lot of planning going on...particularly with regards to the Springboks. We are ranked sixth in the world, so my immediate focus and the big ticket is to fix things as soon as possible.”
He is believed to be keen in particular to draft the powerful Vermeulen into the back row, probably playing him at flanker rather than No.8, mainly because of the strong impression Warren Whiteley, whose best position is No.8, has made as Springbok captain.
Lions skipper Whiteley has filled the leadership vacuum and is seen by Erasmus as an important component in the Springbok rebuild before the World Cup, with only 18 Tests remaining until the tournament starts.
Erasmus is also looking for a scrumhalf to make a definitive statement, with Pienaar, Hougaard and De Klerk still in the mix. However, he may opt for another seasoned campaigner, the Stormers No.9 Dewaldt Duvenage.
Erasmus cut his teeth as a coach by encouraging the Free State Cheetahs – his home province – to play an innovative, attacking brand of rugby, and he also garnered useful overseas experience last year as Munster’s director of rugby.
He has the support of the main power broker in the SA Rugby administration, president Mark Alexander, who wants his period in office to coincide with a Springbok resurgence. However, while Erasmus might get most of what he wants the one area he will not be able to influence is quotas.
It is set in tablets of stone that the South Africa squad that goes to Japan in 2019 is split 50-50 between black/coloured and white players, with a similar quota in the match 23. As things stand that suggests a mainly black/coloured backline with a predominantly white pack.
What it also suggests is that while the competition for places will be fierce, South Africa will not be as strong as they could be if selection was done on merit rather than quotas.
So, even though Erasmus should now be able to pick from the best South Africa has to offer, he will be coaching with the selection equivalent of having one hand tied behind his back.
If South Africa were to win the World Cup under those conditions it would be a remarkable feat.