Rassie Erasmus says he’s happy for Jeremy Ward after the South African centre was called up by France.
The 30-year-old was a surprise inclusion in the Les Bleus squad for this month’s Nations Championship, although he will only become eligible to represent his adopted country in 2027 after completing World Rugby’s five-year residency requirement.
For now, he is just training with the squad.
Ward represented Eastern Province, the Southern Kings and Sharks before joining Stade Français in 2022. He also made four appearances for the Junior Springboks in 2016.
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Speaking ahead of Friday night’s Test against France in Paris, Erasmus admitted that Ward had never featured in his plans.
“To be honest, we never really looked at him and considered him for a Springbok squad in my era. He’s not been on a depth chart.
“Not that he’s bad. I just think we know the players who are playing in South Africa and we track all the other players around the world.
“If he makes it [with France], lekker, we’re happy for him.”
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Erasmus stressed that he had no problem with South Africans pursuing Test opportunities elsewhere.
“It’s not like we don’t like South African players who are playing for other countries,” he said.
“Kyle Steyn, Duhan van der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman [who all play for Scotland] … We are proud of those guys.
“I remember when I was the [SA Rugby] high-performance manager, Duhan was at sevens and he didn’t make it in the sevens system, but he’s been wonderful for Scotland.”
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Photo: @jemwardie_ Instagram
The post Erasmus: Ward never in Bok contention appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Rassie Erasmus says he’s happy for Jeremy Ward after the South African centre was called up by France.
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