The legendary All Blacks coach, Sir Steve Hansen, has commended Rassie Erasmus for his strategic approach towards cultivating a robust team depth within the Springboks squad. This praise came following South Africa's convincing 42-28 victory over a nearly full-strength Scotland in the second round of the Nations Championship at Loftus Versfeld. Despite Erasmus rotating 10 players from the team that previously overcame England, the Springboks showcased their rising talent depth.
Among the starters against Scotland, seasoned players such as Handre Pollard, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian Willemse, and Jesse Kriel were evident, although the team collectively had only 429 international caps, significantly fewer than Scotland’s 628. The forward pack featured five players with fewer than ten caps, similarly reflected in the backline and on the bench. Yet, the Boks demonstrated resilience and capability by securing a win against a formidable Scottish team, missing only a few key players.
"Well, the first thing you’ve got to take is they’re building some wonderful depth, and they are doing that deliberately. It’s that mindset of we don’t care who we pick. We’re good enough. We’ve got enough players to challenge,"
Sir Steve remarked on the Rugby Unity podcast, comparing the strategy to that formerly employed by the All Blacks who aimed at developing a pool of 30 interchangeable players. He stressed the importance of giving players actual game time to foster depth, noting that having several world-class players constantly in the mix is vital but getting everyone game experience is key to development.
Erasmus’ bold experiment included positional shifts like Pollard moving to centre and Lions full-back Quan Horn stepping in at fly-half, illustrating a versatile and dynamic squad adapting to new roles effectively.
Despite the statistical dominance by Scotland in terms of possession and contact metres, the Springboks outperformed where it mattered most. Sir Steve pointed out, "Scotland had more possession; they had 64% of the ball. They made double the contact metres, and if you just looked at the stats, you would say Scotland won the game. But what we forget is you’ve actually got to do how accurate you are with the ball you’ve got? What do you do with it? If you’re very good at scoring tries, you’re not going to have a lot of possession because you have to give it back to them to kick off all the time."
Looking ahead to their next challenge, the Springboks are set to face Wales in Durban. Erasmus has named his squad, introducing four uncapped players, signaling continued emphasis on integrating fresh talent. The matchday squad includes fly-half Vusi Moyo, tighthead prop Carlu Sadie, winger Jaco Williams, and lock Ruben van Heerden, making their debut for the Springboks.
The starting XV and substitutes for the upcoming match against Wales are as follows:
- Malcolm Marx (88 caps)
- Cobus Reinach (51 caps)
- Damian de Allende (98 caps)
- Du Toit (97 caps)
- Jesse Kriel (89 caps)
- Handre Pollard
- Quan Horn
- Vusi Moyo
- Carlu Sadie
- Jaco Williams
- Ruben van Heerden
- Additional squad members
This blend of experience and new talent underscores a promising future for the Springboks as they continue to hone their game plan and flex their muscles on the international stage.