The Springboks’ 80-31 win over the Barbarians answered plenty of questions for Rassie Erasmus, but may have come at a cost.
Veteran lock Franco Mostert limped off during the second half at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, and Erasmus revealed afterwards that the injury is a genuine concern.
“I’m worried about his ankle,” said the Bok coach. “He’s going for scans tomorrow and hopefully it’s not too bad. ‘Sous’ doesn’t normally come off the field if it’s not serious.”
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Mostert’s injury was one of the few negatives on an afternoon in which the Boks crossed for a flood of tries while handing opportunities to several new faces.
Erasmus acknowledged there were still defensive issues to address, despite the one-sided scoreline.
“I think we have to remind ourselves that it’s been six, seven months since we’ve played together and we were kind of puzzling guys in together not knowing when the Stormers or the Bulls would be available, so we had to keep it in the back of our minds.
“Cohesion wasn’t 100%. Overall, boxes ticked and I won’t moan too much about attack when you get 80 points. But the thing we have to moan about is the defence.”
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One player who emerged with his reputation enhanced was Lions fullback Quan Horn, who spent time directing play at flyhalf.
Erasmus admitted Horn endured a difficult moment early on but was pleased with how he responded.
“One of Quan’s strengths is his defence and the first try came from a guy who ran over him. But the nice thing is it didn’t take him off focus.
“He certainly had some nice passes and made tries for guys, kicked really well to touch.
“That is what this game was all about – sorting out some problems and getting some answers. So overall I think he did really well.”
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The Bok coach also singled out several other players for praise.
“I think Vusi [Moyo] is a really calm guy and quite aggressive, and really impressed us as well.
“A guy like Riley [Norton] – 20 years old, playing a full match against grown men. That’s not easy.
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“Paul [de Villiers] did well when he came on, Evan [Roos] did well, and I thought Faf [de Klerk] was decent when he got back in the mix.”
Photo: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
The post Rassie fears worst for Bok warrior appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
The Springboks’ 80-31 win over the Barbarians answered plenty of questions for Rassie Erasmus, but may have come at a cost.
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