Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has shed light on the absence of Wilco Louw from the match 23 to face England at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The experienced tighthead prop was one of the notable omissions when Erasmus named a settled side for their opening Nations Championship Test.
Thomas du Toit will start at tighthead, with Zach Porthen providing cover from the bench.
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Louw’s father passed away in April after a long illness, while the 31-year-old is also moving his family back to Cape Town from Pretoria after signing for the Stormers.
“Wilco has had a tough time,” Erasmus said. “Without getting into his personal life, there was illness in the family, there was a family bereavement, he was ill for one game and he’s had a tough five or six weeks.
“We just feel Wilco needs one week to settle down a little bit. We think his body has taken some hammering over the last couple of weeks, so that’s the reason.
“Thomas starting is quite solid for us at tighthead, and Zach coming off the bench gives us someone who’s really mobile. He’s really impressed in the scrum sessions.”
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The Bok coach admitted there would be questions about several selections, including the absence of a specialist lock on the bench.
“[Flank] Pieter-Steph du Toit will cover lock for us,” he confirmed. “We’ve gone with a 5-3 split, but we know André Esterhuizen can also cover loose forward for us, while Jan-Hendrik Wessels covers hooker.”
At flyhalf, Erasmus opted for Manie Libbok ahead of Handré Pollard, with Damian Willemse providing cover at No 10 from fullback.
“When it’s on, we’d love Manie to exploit what’s in front of him,” Erasmus said. “Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] was injured and Handré was still playing in the URC final, so we had one more week to prepare with Manie.
“We all know the way Manie plays, but we’d also like to control the game. If it really opens up, which I think England will try to do, then I think Manie is the right guy for that.”
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Erasmus said the Boks had named a largely settled side because they wanted to make a strong start to the campaign.
“It’s our first match of the season and we’d like to try and win,” he said.
“This is a Test match against England. You get big Test matches, and England is certainly one of them.”
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Photo: Paul Harding/Gallo Images
The post Rassie explains Wilco omission appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has shed light on the absence of Wilco Louw from the match 23 to face England at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The post Rassie explains Wilco omission appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
