Victor Matfield says Rassie Erasmus would have learned a lot from the Springboks’ 42-38 defeat to the Wallabies in Perth.
Erasmus made 13 changes to the starting XV that beat the All Blacks in Baltimore to clinch the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, giving fringe several players an opportunity in the one-off Test at Optus Stadium.
The seventh-ranked Wallabies led 42-17 midway through the second half before a flurry of yellow cards and three late Bok tries set up a thrilling finish, with the hosts hanging on for a confidence-boosting victory.
Erasmus emptied his experienced bench in the 47th minute, but the Bomb Squad ultimately ran out of time to rescue the Boks.
“I think it just showed again that the intensity and the focus was so big on the Greatest Rivalry tour, and to pick yourself up after four weeks like that is really difficult,” Matfied said on the Rugby Rivals podcast.
“We’ve been talking about the depth that we’ve got in South Africa, but I think it’s just showing there’s definitely a little gap between that very experienced team that’s been through so many things and the new kids coming through.
“Well done to Australia. They came at the Boks in that first half. They dominated a lot of things. It’s the first time in a long time the Boks lost the aerial battle as well.”
MALLETT: Bok A team was on the bench
Asked by former All Blacks wing John Kirwan whether there was an element of arrogance in making so many changes, the former Bok lock defended Erasmus’ decision.
“I think Rassie picks his moments. Where was the focus? I think the focus was all on the Greatest Rivalry. That’s what we wanted to win this year, and he got that right.
“He played the same team for four weeks, something we haven’t seen for a long time. He’s always had belief in his squad.
ALSO: Ex-Boks not panicking after Perth tryout
“I just think if you look at certain positions, especially the front row [Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Zachary Porthen], it wasn’t our second front row, it was our third front row. And a few other positions as well. At scrumhalf [Herschel Jantjies], I think it’s our fourth choice.
“It’s just guys who haven’t had a chance to show what they can do. I think Rassie wanted to test them under pressure to see what they can do and where they stand in the rankings.
“There are a few guys who I think did stand up and there are a few guys who didn’t come through.
“At some stage, if you plan for a World Cup – the next thing is to win the World Cup, we won the Greatest Rivalry, now we want to go for that three in a row – you have to give those guys a chance.
“They need to be tested, and the only way they will get better is to play in Test matches.
PLUS: Hansen, Mallett slam ‘Please call me’ scenes
“I also think it would have been very hard if we picked the same guys [who played against the All Blacks] to mentally be there.
“I could just see in the whole week’s build-up, I saw a few things from the coaches where mentally it just wasn’t the same. The guys just dropped off a little bit, they took that breath.
“In international rugby, especially now that Australia is getting back, if you’re 5% off your game mentally, then it’s very difficult to win a game.”
Photo: Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images
The post Matfield: Gap exposed in Bok depth appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Victor Matfield says Rassie Erasmus would have learned a lot from the Springboks’ 42-38 defeat to the Wallabies in Perth.
The post Matfield: Gap exposed in Bok depth appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
