Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says he had hoped to select now England centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg for the Springboks or South Africa A. SIMON BORCHARDT reports.
The 29-year-old, who previously represented the Junior Springboks and played for the Leopards, Sharks, Kings and Cheetahs, has been included in England’s squad for their Nations Championship Tests in July.
However, Janse van Rensburg is not yet eligible for Saturday’s clash against the Springboks at Ellis Park. Although he featured off the bench for an England XV against a France XV in Vannes, he only qualifies to represent England through residency on 8 July, five years after moving to the UK.
The Bristol Bears midfielder is therefore likely to make his Test debut against Fiji at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool on 11 July.
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Speaking on Tuesday, Erasmus revealed the Springboks had explored the possibility of selecting Janse van Rensburg before committing to honouring an agreement not to cap him.
“If I tell the honest truth, we did have conversations with him,” Erasmus said. “He was very keen to come.
“Our CEO [Rian Oberholzer] asked me whether we were interested and I said yes, but we wanted to see where he’d fit into our selection plans.
“Then he asked whether we were going to try and cap him this year. I said no, I didn’t think so.
“We then wanted to give him a chance in June because we were thin at centre with a lot of players away and we had the Barbarians game and the SA A game [against Zimbabwe].
“But then our CEO reminded me that we’d already committed to World Rugby that we wouldn’t go down that route. So we didn’t pursue it.”
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Erasmus insisted there were no hard feelings about Janse van Rensburg representing England, adding that the Springboks are always pleased to see South Africans succeed overseas.
“No, not at all,” he said when asked if he was disappointed. “I don’t think people believe us when we say this, but when South Africans do well overseas, we’re happy for them.
“When they play against us, we want to beat them and tackle them backwards. But when a South African does well, we’re happy.
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“We’re glad Bernard isn’t playing against us [on Saturday] because we know him well.
“He’s a tough man. That’s why we considered him.
“But the fair thing was to give him the opportunity where he is.”
Photo: Franco Arland/Getty Images
The post Rassie: Boks wanted Benhard appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says he had hoped to select now England centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg for the Springboks or South Africa A.
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