Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says Embrose Papier still has every chance of forcing his way into contention for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks.
Papier’s absence from the 44-man squad for the one-off Test against Argentina next Saturday and the All Blacks series sparked debate among Bok fans after the in-form Vodacom Bulls scrumhalf had a solid outing against a strong Scotland team during the Nations Championship.
But Erasmus said the decision was about game time and squad management rather than a lack of confidence in the 29-year-old.
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“There are a few players who we released to the franchises, a guy like Embrose is a classic example,” Erasmus said.
“We have to get game time into Krappie [Morné van den Berg] and Cobus [Reinach], so the two of them will go [to Argentina], if there isn’t an injury.
“If we take Embrose with them, he doesn’t have the opportunity to train with the Bulls ahead of their match against the All Blacks [on 15 August].
“Herschel [Jantjies] doesn’t have any club commitments [with Bayonne] now, that’s why he will go with.”
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The Bulls will face the All Blacks in Pretoria before the opening Test at Ellis Park, and Erasmus believes those URC club clashes could become an important audition for players still pushing for places in the Bok squad.
“Those kinds of things are going to be interesting – how Embrose performs against the All Blacks, how Ntuks [prop Ntuthuko Mchunu] performs for the Stormers, [flyhalf] Vusi [Moyo] for the Sharks,” he said.
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The Bok coach indicated that several players could still play their way into the final squad for the New Zealand series.
“We’ll try and release the guys who we feel might not be involved in the first Test match.
“But also, guys can play themselves in if some guys don’t do well in Argentina, some guys are not 100% fit and some guys shine against the All Blacks.
“So that’s a nice thing to look at.”
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
The post Rassie: Door still open for Papier & co appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says Embrose Papier still has every chance of forcing his way into contention for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks.
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