Rassie Erasmus awaits news on several Springboks’ readiness to face Scotland, but is upbeat on his squad depth going forward after “destiny took charge” at Ellis Park.
Erasmus provided an injury update ahead of the Nations Championship clash against the Scots at Loftus Versfeld next week, following the Boks’ 45-21 win over England on Saturday.
Ox Nché (knee) hobbled off early in Johannesburg, while André Esterhuizen left the field following a head knock. Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth were withdrawn before kick-off.
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“I think Ox will be out. That’s just my gut feeling of seeing a guy like Ox, when he says he can’t go on, then there’s something not great,” admitted Erasmus on the availability of Nché.
“Because he [Etzebeth] got the head knock early in the week, maybe he can be available, depending on his symptoms.
“André, definitely got a head knock concussion in the game, I’m not sure which category that will be.
“Lood [de Jager] might be ready. I think Sous [Franco Mostert] is another two weeks. But we have Cobus Wiese and Vincent Tshituka there.
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“Siya, the scans will be tomorrow [Sunday]. If it’s a grade one, then there’s a chance. If it’s a grade two, then probably not next week.”
Kolisi and Etzebeth’s late withdrawals saw openside flank Paul de Villiers make his senior debut and Cameron Hanekom promoted to the starting XV. Erasmus said the outcome offered a timely test of his squad depth.
“I wouldn’t prescribe it for any team to lose the guys on the team photos that sit to the left and the right of me, which are the most caps in the team, or the captain, prior to a game,” he said.
“But we must see the positive in that. Paul will certainly learn from that experience and so will Cameron. It takes courage to swap players in and out in a new competition.
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“We’ve got a saying: it will come to us. We believe in that, that it will come to us, but certainly we’ll have to make some big calls in this year to be 100% sure about next year, that when we go into the World Cup that we test our depth.
“Today, destiny took charge of that, and we could go with that, and luckily it worked out the right way.”
He also highlighted Stormers prop Zachary Porthen’s cameo off the bench, noting the 22-year-old’s toughening up against quality scrummagers in training had clearly paid off.
“We would’ve loved Zach to have played more games in the URC and really get roughed up as a tighthead,” Erasmus said. “There’s no doubt about his general plan, he’s a fantastic player. He’s mobile, he can tackle and so on. We’re very happy for him.”
Photo: Steve Haag – Nations Championship/Nations Championship via Getty Images
The post More big selection calls for Rassie appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Rassie Erasmus awaits news on several Springboks’ readiness to face Scotland, but is upbeat on his squad depth going forward after “destiny took charge” at Ellis Park.
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