Rassie Erasmus has revealed that next Saturday’s Springbok lineup to face Wales at Kings Park will be a blend of experimentation with fit and returning players.
A much-changed Bok team beat Scotland 42-28 in the Nations Championship at Loftus on Saturday, and will now travel to Durban, where they will host a Welsh outfit coming off a 35-21 defeat in Argentina.
Speaking post-match, Erasmus shed light on Siya Kolisi’s availability as well as long-term absentees Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Morné van den Berg, along with those who were rested following victory over England eight days ago.
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Asked whether the Boks would lean towards a familiar match 23, with an eye on the Los Pumas Test on 8 August and the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series from 22 August, Erasmus replied: “That’s a valid question – it’s a bit of a combination.
“When you walk out today [Saturday] and you see Ox Nché, Malcolm Marx, Eben, Siya, Lood de Jager, ‘Sous’ [Franco Mostert], Cobus Reinach in the stands, and you think about Sacha, Manie Libbok, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie, you see a lot of guys who are coming back.
“Next week will probably be some guys returning to fitness.”
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“To get Ethan Hooker through another couple of minutes, maybe give Jesse Kriel a rest, we’ll see,” the Bok boss added. “Canan might be at full fitness and we’ll switch him to 13.
“We’ll probably get Sacha into the group next week, because he might be ready for Argentina. ‘Krappie’ [Van den Berg] is really close to full fitness. I think a guy like Siya and Lood, hopefully, will be ready.
“It’ll be a combination of some guys coming back from injury and making sure we have more caps than our opposition, because today we were totally outnumbered in experience.”
On Hooker’s early withdrawal against Scotland due to a suspected concussion, Erasmus was unsure exactly what triggered the HIA.
“We didn’t see an incident and the guy’s mouth got pinged. So, hopefully, I think he will be cleared.”
Erasmus, too, clarified the circumstances behind Moodie’s late withdrawal, which saw Hooker handed a surprise start on the left wing.
“Canan was not feeling that well during the week. On Friday, he trained but then he had a bit of a stiff hamstring. It wasn’t serious.
“Ethan was fully fit and we just thought with this game, Ethan might get 80 minutes under his belt. Maybe next week, another 80. Then Argentina, and by New Zealand, he’s got three games under his belt.”
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Photo: Sebastian Frej/Getty Images
The post Sacha set for Bok comeback appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Rassie Erasmus reveals that next Saturday’s Springbok lineup to face Wales at Kings Park will be a blend of experimentation with fit and returning players.
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