Rassie Erasmus has hailed the effectiveness of South Africa's player development system for its role in keeping the Springboks' roster robust and competitive. Despite losing key players to injuries and managing the workload of seasoned veterans, Erasmus is confident in the depth created by the strategic collaboration between SA Rugby’s high-performance unit and the Springbok coaching staff.
"We work in tandem in South Africa. Since the inception of the elite player development pathway in 2013, we started reaping the benefits around 2019 and 2020, and then the pandemic hit," Erasmus shared. He explained that COVID-19's disruption led to a lost generation of players, impacting the age profile of today's top-tier South African rugby talent.
"I think we missed a lot of players in that Covid era, who didn’t play Craven Week, SA Schools, didn’t go to the SA academy, didn’t play Junior Springboks."
Erasmus lamented the missed opportunities for young players during crucial developmental stages, noting that it has resulted in a noticeable age gap within the national team. Many promising players halted their careers during this period, with some failing to secure contracts.
The Springbok coach emphasized the ongoing collaboration with high-performance manager Dave Wessels and Junior Boks coach Kevin Foote, focusing on quickly integrating emerging talents into the national setup.
"We work very closely with Dave and Kevin, and then we do our depth chart and then we try and get guys as quickly as possible into the set-up, just to see the guy eye-to-eye. Does he feel comfortable with what we’re doing? Does he understand what we’re saying and how should we approach those guys?"
Looking ahead to their first international face-off of the season against the Barbarians in Gqeberha, Erasmus is not worried about the depth in key positions, especially among forwards.
"Apart from the junior guys who have just come in, we have players like Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Ox Nché, and Malcolm Marx, who bring a blend of youth and experience. In the lock position, despite some concerns due to injuries, players like Riley Norton are stepping up impressively," he added.
There’s also positive news regarding veteran lock Eben Etzebeth, who is nearing a full recovery. "We’re doing the final fitness and strength things with Eben to make sure he’s ready for England, which he will be. Lood de Jager might be ready then, but a guy like Riley has really put up his hand."
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