Rassie Erasmus says the Springboks are implementing a jersey culture as part of their plans to build squad depth.
Realising the need to blood through the next generation of Bok players, Erasmus utilised 50 players in 2024 and has followed suit in 2025 with the aim of having at least four players in every position.
The head coach has heavily rotated his matchday 23s in the four matches so far this year and did so again when he named his team for the Rugby Championship opener against the Wallabies.
This has not only helped with building depth for the 2027 Rugby World Cup and beyond but also makes it incredibly difficult to predict who will start for the Springboks on any given weekend.
Building depth
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Erasmus explained that there is no first-choice starter in any position at the moment with the selections changing week on week depending on the requirements of the team and the opposition they are facing.
He also revealed that players who were cut from the squad ahead of the Rugby Championship are not out of the mix completely and still participate in team meetings by attending virtually.
He explained as much when discussing the decision to start Grant Williams at scrum-half against the Wallabies with Cobus Reinach on the bench and Morne van den Berg missing out entirely.
“We are trying to build a culture where it is all three players’ jersey and hopefully, just in a World Cup quarter-final, semi-final and final, we will pick the best nine who are in form,” he said.
“Faf [de Klerk] is not at all out of the picture, and neither is Jaden [Hendrikse]. We usually carry four nines but just for the sake of repetition and getting one-on-one detail into players, we cut the squad a little bit.
“But when we have meetings, we still have got Jaden, Faf, Makazole [Mapimpi] and Salmaan [Moerat], who unfortunately got injured and was supposed to play for Western Province this weekend. So, although those guys aren’t here, when we are having a meeting, those guys log in virtually.
“We know that if you don’t go four positions deep, it can happen that in one game, you suddenly have two injuries in one position.”
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Competition for places
This hasn’t removed the element of players competing for their position, according to Erasmus, but they do understand the need for the changes.
“They are competing and they don’t just want to give the jersey away, but they also understand that we will rotate, but there will be certain matches that we feel it is critical and that’s probably when we play Rugby World Cup knockouts and very important matches in the Rugby Championship that a player will get the nod in a specific game,” he added.
“We could have easily picked Morne off the bench, but in this specific game and with the way we want to play the game, he [Grant] isn’t necessarily the first choice, but the way we want to play, he is the best option. I think the squad has accepted now that we have shared jerseys and we don’t say that this guy is out-and-out the best.”
With Frans Malherbe sidelined for the remainder of the year and Thomas du Toit rested through an agreement with Bath, Lions tighthead Asenathi Ntlabakanye has been named on the bench for the Springboks while winger Edwill van der Merwe starts in the absence of Cheslin Kolbe who was cleared for the match but not risked.
Belief in rookies
While Erasmus admits that Kolbe would have played this weekend if it were a Rugby World Cup final, he states there is full belief and confidence in his replacement, as well as Ntlabakanye.
“Firstly, we have trust and belief in players. We have worked with Edwill now for more than two years. He has just been in an era where we have got Kurt-Lee [Arendse] and Cheslin who have really played well and Mapimpi and [Aphelele] Fassi have played there for us as well.
“Cheslin was not available for this Test match but if it was a World Cup final, we would have probably played him, but what he [Edwill] does in training is really what we want and he has really delivered in the matches he has played. It’s just another step up for him, and we believe he can make it.
“Everyone is talking about the depth in our squad. Deon Fourie, Kitshoff [retired], Faf, and Mapimpi, so somewhere other guys must step up, and I know Frans Malherbe is still recovering and hopefully next year in June we are able to select him, but we are giving Asenathi the chance.
“Having Bongi [Mbonambi] next to him helps because we know it will be tough in the scrums, but we want to see Asenathi in general play too, because he is a guy who has a great feel for the game. He hasn’t really had the opportunity to show what he has in general play and that excites us.”