Rassie Erasmus faces some intriguing selection calls as the Springboks begin piecing together the squad they believe can topple the All Blacks when Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry reaches Ellis Park later this month.
With injuries still to be assessed and the Bok head coach confirming that he could expand his squad to as many as 44 players, the door remains firmly open for players to force their way into contention.
Following their hard-fought 17-10 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday, the world champions will now fully shift their attention to New Zealand and the opening Test in Johannesburg.
“We don’t want to trim the squad,” Erasmus said.
“The squad is currently around 40 players; we have 15 guys in South Africa and toured with 26 here (in Argentina), that’s 41. So we’re not going to trim the squad. New Zealand are touring with 44, so we would rather add more guys to the squad to get the numbers up to 44. So, nobody has to be cut,” he added.
“Obviously we do have the 15 guys who prepared at home, but that’s not to say they will start or be in the match-day 23. We just had to get a lot of players to Argentina for match fitness. Now, we have to look at who is fit and then select the side that we hope can beat New Zealand in the first Test.”
With the Boks set to assess the hamstring injury of Siya Kolisi, Stormers veteran Deon Fourie made enough of a case for himself to be included in the expanded squad as extra loose-forward cover.
Fourie was outstanding against the All Blacks in the opening Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour match in Cape Town on Friday.
His work at the breakdown, including slowing the ball down and winning turnovers, and the way he defended showed that, at 39 years old, he still has what it takes to play at the highest level. Fourie, at one stage, made three crucial tackles within 15 seconds of each other to halt a promising New Zealand attack.
He also scored a crucial try for the Cape side that brought them back into the game when the All Blacks were in the driving seat.
That is the kind of performance that will definitely catch the attention of Erasmus and his coaches.
Upon their return to South Africa, the Sharks (Tuesday, 11 August) and Bulls (Saturday, 15 August) will provide the Bok management with two more clashes to scout the All Blacks and potential players to join the expanded squad for the Tests.
