Rassie Erasmus had to field what he claimed was \u201ca very loaded\u201d question about his much-changed Springboks line-up for Saturday\u2019s Rugby Championship rematch with the All Blacks in Wellington.<\/p>\n
The South Africa head coach reacted to last weekend\u2019s 17-24 Round Three loss to New Zealand<\/a> in Auckland by bringing forward his team selection announcement and then unveiling a XV containing seven changes.<\/p>\n Five of the alterations are in a youthful-looking backline where Cheslin Kolbe<\/a> and Canan Moodie are the only starters retained from Eden Park. Winger Ethan Hooker<\/a> has been chosen for just the third time, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu comes in at fly-half, Aphelele Fassi is restored to full-back, while Moodie has been switched from wing to centre to partner Damian Willemse.<\/p>\n In the pack, Jasper Wiese returns following his suspension<\/a> and Lood de Jager is promoted from the bench.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the bottom line\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n A South African reporter in the online segment of the team announcement briefing from Wellington asked Erasmus: \u201cI know you\u2019re looking ahead and giving these guys game time, but, without giving any specifics, are there some players that perhaps disappointed you so much (last Saturday in Auckland) that they forced your hand?<\/p>\n The Springboks head coach replied: \u201cIt\u2019s a very loaded question. So if I say yes, he [the reporter] is probably going to ask who. No, we all know there were a lot of guys that didn\u2019t play well and there are a lot of coaches who didn\u2019t coach well last week, including myself.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I have to look at the positives (with the way) the game ended, it almost felt like the World Cup, that (2023) Ireland pool match where we clawed ourselves back into the game and then we didn\u2019t score at the end.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd to answer your question there, I thought the guys that that came on brought a lot of energy and brought a lot of fight which, after 15 minutes, you know we were 14-0 down and then they [the All Blacks] only scored another 10 points, which is irrelevant \u2013 we lost the game and that\u2019s the bottom line.<\/p>\n Springboks team: Rassie Erasmus shocks as South Africa look to next generation with huge gamble for All Blacks rematch<\/a><\/p>\n The \u2018politically correct\u2019 Rassie Erasmus reaction to accusation that referee Karl Dickson \u2018was almost afraid to punish New Zealand\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBut the energy that the guys who came on (had) maybe changed my mind and to think, \u2018Let\u2019s get some energetic guys onto the field who\u2019ve never played here (in New Zealand) before\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, we are still two in the world, so we win this game, we\u2019re back in the Rugby Championship mix and we are still high in the world rankings. So it [the selection] is a bit of both. You know, obviously some players, like some coaches, some of us are disappointed, but it wasn\u2019t through a lack of trying.\u201d<\/p>\n Erasmus had begun the briefing by saying: \u201cIt would have been paradise if we won last weekend and we still could have made the changes, which was the plan.<\/p>\n \u201cNot a lot of players get the opportunity to play New Zealand and after this game, we probably only have the year of the World Cup (2027) where we\u2019re playing them away here.<\/p>\n \u201cSo the plan was to try and win and then also give some (players) the pressure of playing against the top team currently in the world. Maybe not so many we would have made, but definitely we would have made changes.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s not so much fresh legs as making sure we get some guys under the pressure of playing a team like that and hopefully learn from that for the next two years until the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n Confused Scott Robertson caught out by Springboks selection shock as All Blacks boss jokes Rassie Erasmus \u2018had a couple of late nights\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Rugby Championship Team of the Week: \u2018Rugby genius\u2019 hailed as All Blacks, Wallabies and Los Pumas dominate selection<\/a><\/p>\n Erasmus added: \u201cWinning every match is quite important for us, or trying to win or attempt or plan to win every match is the most important thing. Now, after this weekend (in Wellington), we are going to be eight games into the season.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019m 100 per cent right, but it looks like we are still #2 in the world rankings-wise\u2026 I don\u2019t know if World Rugby is updated or not<\/a>. I just checked, so it looks like we\u2019re still #2 in the world. So you know, if we get through this game and we win the game, we will either be number one or two in the world, I guess. It\u2019s after eight games, and then we\u2019re halfway through the season.<\/p>\n \u201cSo yeah, the big goal is to build squad depth and, as I said last week, that is introducing youngsters, sometimes with some senior players, introducing the youngsters at different venues, introducing youngsters at other positions is really good.<\/p>\n \u201cNumber one in the world in their own field [New Zealand], you know, under pressure of crowd pressure. And then slowly seeing how they develop, you know, a guy like Fassi, this is the next stage for him developing.<\/p>\n \u201cA guy like Sasha has played against New Zealand last year, but that was at home. Damian Williams coming back, hasn\u2019t played at 12 for a while, getting him back into the mix. So it\u2019s trying to balance it while winning because I know the only thing that makes us all happy is winning. But yeah, there\u2019s a bit of an eye on the future without forgetting the present.\u201d<\/p>\n Rassie Erasmus posts 17-word \u2018does not lie\u2019 message after Springboks\u2019 loss to All Blacks<\/a><\/p>\n