Kieran Read warns that Rassie Erasmus’ Springbok experimentation might prove costly for the world champions on their overseas Nations Championship tour.
Chatting with fellow ex-internationals Mike Tindall, Justin Marshall and Jeremy Paul on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby: Australia & New Zealand podcast, Read says the world champions could give their northern hemisphere opponents an opportunity if they rotate their squad too heavily.
WATCH: Hansen on Rassie ‘rolling the dice’
The Boks face Italy in Turin on Saturday, before taking on France and Ireland over the following two weeks in the build-up to the finals weekend of 27-29 November.
Erasmus has made it clear that developing depth and testing new combinations is a priority as the Boks build towards the 2027 World Cup, with six uncapped players included in a 37-man squad.
Read believes that approach could come at the expense of results, despite South Africa unbeaten after beating England, Scotland and Wales in the Republic in July.
PLUM: Rassie has something All Blacks don’t
“I still think they might struggle a bit up north because they have got the mentality of France when they might rest a few guys and give a team like the Wallabies [on 27 September] a chance to get a victory over them and make them feel good,” the former All Blacks captain said.
Read was, however, impressed by the quality of South Africa’s strongest line-ups, particularly during the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against New Zealand, which Erasmus’ men won 3-1.
The double World Cup winner felt the contests demonstrated the gap between the Boks at full strength and the rest of international rugby.
“It probably showed that South Africa are the best team in the world by quite a way when they put out their best side,” he added.
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
The post Read reckons Boks in for ‘struggle up north’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Kieran Read warns that Rassie Erasmus’ Springbok experimentation might prove costly for the world champions on their overseas Nations Championship tour.
The post Read reckons Boks in for ‘struggle up north’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
