Steven Kitshoff, Steve Hansen and Ewen McKenzie agreed that honest conversations need to be had between Rassie Erasmus and his ageing Springbok world champions.
Several of them are on the wrong side of 30, with Deon Fourie turning 40 on Friday, and skipper Siya Kolisi and Franco Mostert both 35.
Eben Etzebeth, the most-capped Bok of all time, and fellow two-time World Cup winners Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende are all 34.
The World Cup in Australia kicks off in October 2027, raising questions about how Erasmus manages his seasoned campaigners’ game time – and careers – between now and then.
Kitshoff, speaking with Hansen and McKenzie on the Rugby Unity podcast, feels Erasmus already has a trusted core in mind and sounded a note of caution.
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“But when it came to the All Blacks [in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series] and when it came to big games, there’s a real mentality that there’s going to be 23 to 25 guys that he really backs, and that’s probably going to be the guys that we’re going to see going into the World Cup season.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how these guys get through, especially the older guys. If they get through, if they get managed well – for me personally, you don’t want to take a squad to the World Cup that’s a bit on the older side that can’t get through a Monday-Tuesday training block.
“I can’t see much rugby for them after that because they’ve been in the Springbok squad or been part of the Springboks for over 10 years.”
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Hansen said he faced the same challenge with the All Blacks in 2015, adding: “As the coach, you’re guiding him on his performance. You’re having honest conversations. Is the performance good enough?”
“However, if he [Erasmus] has the conversation, then there might be one or two who say, ‘Look, I just can’t do it anymore.’ And that’s fine. They’re putting the team first. They’re brave enough to tell you.”
McKenzie prefers managing senior players’ training loads rather than resting them from matches.
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“Everyone wants to play the game. I’ve tended to take the approach of resting them from training,” the former Wallabies boss said.
“In other words, the bit that they enjoy is playing the game. So if you can manage their training load, then that’s one way of managing their workload in total.”
Photo: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
The post ‘Don’t want to take old Boks to World Cup’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Steven Kitshoff, Steve Hansen and Ewen McKenzie agreed that honest conversations need to be had between Rassie Erasmus and his ageing Springbok world champions.
The post ‘Don’t want to take old Boks to World Cup’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
