After blockbuster performances against the All Blacks, Rassie Erasmus said that it was ‘tough’ to leave Cameron Hanekom out of the Springboks team to face Australia.
Hanekom has been tipped for a bright career in the Green and Gold jersey after making his debut off the bench against Wales during the 2024 November internationals.
However, the livewire back-rower was dealt a hammer blow during the 2024/25 United Rugby Championship season, which meant that he missed the entirety of last year’s international campaign.
He quickly rediscovered his form with the Bulls and was subsequently recalled to the Springboks squad ahead of the Nations Championship matches, where he earned his second cap and first start against England in Johannesburg.
While he was overlooked for the Test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park despite impressing versus Argentina, he was named on the bench for each of the last three Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry matches.
Cameron Hanekom’s absence
He made an impact in each match, particularly the fixture in Baltimore where he crossed the whitewash but has been overlooked for the one-off Test against Australia in Perth.
Marco van Staden has been selected in the number eight jumper and is flanked by Elrigh Louw and Paul de Villiers whilst Jasper Wiese has been included on the bench as loose forward cover, where he will earn his 50th Test cap.
Erasmus said that the decision to leave Hanekom out of the team was a ‘tough’ one but explained that the rookie forward knows that the coaching team has plans for him for the November fixtures of the Nations Championship.
“It was tough not to give a guy like Cameron another run, but he fully understands what the plan is and what the plan will be at the end of the year tour with him,” the head coach said as he gave his verdict on the team to face Les Kiss’ Wallabies.
The Boks head coach has retained just two starters from the team that beat the All Blacks in Baltimore in the RGR series finale as he not only looks to freshen up the side but give players an opportunity to impress.
It’s a fortunate position to be in, according to the coach, but is made possible by the number of times he has rotated the squad since the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
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Verdict on the team to face Australia
Erasmus adds that the team isn’t as youthful or inexperienced as one might think, adding that there is also security in place on the bench, which boasts 342 Test caps.
“The average age is 28 for the guys who are starting and about 29 for the guys on the bench, and the caps are between 35 and 40,” he said as he ran through the team.
“With making so many changes, obviously we’re in a fortunate position that we’ve been rotating a lot during the last couple of years, and I guess the big thing always is: can you maintain a winning run whilst doing that? And luckily, we could; through stages there were obviously some stages where we couldn’t.
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“If you look at this team, I think it’s a really mobile team with Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Grobbies [Johan Grobbelaar] and Zach Porthen. We know what Eben [Etzebeth] brings, but with Franco [Mostert], Paul and Elrigh, those are guys who I think will have to match Australia in the way they defend and fill the field, and how they also like to keep the ball through structure alive.”
Moving onto the backline, he added: “Aphelele [Fassi] has proven himself over and over. Edwill [van der Merwe] fully deserves a chance. Canan [Moodie] and Andre [Esterhuizen] have done some great things for us together as a centre combination. And then Ethan [Hooker], we all know how well he’s played the last couple of weeks.
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“Obviously, we could have played Siya [Kolisi] and Damian Willemse, Cobus Reinach, and there are a couple of guys that we could have put in the team. And then if you look at the bench, you’ll see probably the only guy that still hasn’t had a solid chance is Quan Horn, but other than that, seven of the eight we feel can really bring stability and security if it doesn’t go too well.
“Quan has proven for us that he can play 10, 12, 15, and even wing for us. We feel it’s a well-balanced team that, obviously, even if we picked a totally different team, I think Australia is anyway a challenge. So, I don’t think there’s a specific area apart from maybe the starting team being a little bit more mobile, a little bit younger than the team that played last weekend, with some proper backup on the bench.”