The Springboks might have left the All Blacks in the dust with a 43-10 spanking in Wellington, but it wasn't all victory dances and fist bumps after the game. It turns out, smashing through the New Zealand defense like a hot knife through butter comes with its own set of problems—mainly, a battered and bruised squad. Several key players, including Lood de Jager, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Aphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, and Cobus Reinach, were sidelined during the game, with only Reinach bouncing back from his head knock to return to the fray.
Rassie Erasmus, the mastermind behind the Boks' tactical wizardry, wasn't just dealing with post-match celebrations; he had some serious concerns about his injured warriors. De Jager and Fassi got the worst of it, with Erasmus noting that their injuries “appear to be serious.” The full extent of their woes will only unfold after more thorough medical evaluations. Imagine sidelining your stars right when you’re gearing up for a bruising battle with the Pumas—talk about bad timing!
“The main thing for us going into this game was to get the belief in the team back again, and we are back at No 1 in the world, but we know we are going to face two tough matches against Argentina, who have really been playing well,”
said Erasmus, obviously proud but cautious about the road ahead.
With the Springboks now sitting pretty at the top of the world rankings, Erasmus can’t seem to praise the Springbok supporters enough. Their faith in his revamped backline was well rewarded in Wellington, and that support is something the team will lean on as they head into back-to-back clashes with Argentina. First, they'll bring the heat to Durban on September 27, before jet-setting to Twickenham for another round on October 4.
As for the fans, they can only hope that the injury list doesn’t grow any longer. Because let's face it, nobody wants their top players benched, especially when they’re just starting to taste that sweet number one spot again.
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The Springboks might have left the All Blacks in the dust with a 43-10 spanking in Wellington, but it wasn't all victory dances and fist bumps after the game. It turns out, smashing through the New Zealand defense like a hot knife through butter comes with its own set of problems—mainly, a battered and bruised squad. Several key players, including Lood de Jager, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Aphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, and Cobus Reinach, were sidelined during the game, with only Reinach bouncing back from his head knock to return to the fray.
Rassie Erasmus, the mastermind behind the Boks' tactical wizardry, wasn't just dealing with post-match celebrations; he had some serious concerns about his injured warriors. De Jager and Fassi got the worst of it, with Erasmus noting that their injuries “appear to be serious.” The full extent of their woes will only unfold after more thorough medical evaluations. Imagine sidelining your stars right when you’re gearing up for a bruising battle with the Pumas—talk about bad timing!
“The main thing for us going into this game was to get the belief in the team back again, and we are back at No 1 in the world, but we know we are going to face two tough matches against Argentina, who have really been playing well,”
said Erasmus, obviously proud but cautious about the road ahead.With the Springboks now sitting pretty at the top of the world rankings, Erasmus can’t seem to praise the Springbok supporters enough. Their faith in his revamped backline was well rewarded in Wellington, and that support is something the team will lean on as they head into back-to-back clashes with Argentina. First, they'll bring the heat to Durban on September 27, before jet-setting to Twickenham for another round on October 4.
As for the fans, they can only hope that the injury list doesn’t grow any longer. Because let's face it, nobody wants their top players benched, especially when they’re just starting to taste that sweet number one spot again.