Rassie backs winners for tour whitewash

10/26/2024 11:41 PM

The likes of Vodacom Bulls star David Kriel will eventually play for the Springboks, but Rassie Erasmus' end-of-year selections are about trusting his core group of champions, writes MARK KEOHANE.

Writing for TimesLIVE, Keohane sees Erasmus' 35-man squad for a three-test November tour to the UK as a testament to the Boks' established formula, choosing experienced, back-to-back world champions over developing new talent.

Keohane is confident that Kriel and Bulls teammate Cameron Hanekom will make their Test debuts, though not yet, as Erasmus' current selections reflect a strategy aimed at securing wins over Scotland, England, and Wales.

He also emphasises that tighthead prop Wilco Louw's recall strengthens an already formidable Bok scrum. The powerful Louw has shown his ability to overpower opponents in the URC, even though his inclusion has been delayed due to depth in South Africa's front-row stocks.

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“Erasmus' selections and absolute trust in those players who won back-to-back World Cups is a statement that the Boks won't revert from a set-piece formula that currently has no equal in Test rugby,” Keohane writes.

“Erasmus will not use the November internationals for player development. That may come at home in the 2025 June internationals, but realistically there are only a handful of players pushing for Test opportunities outside the existing group.

“Kriel is one of them and so is his Bulls teammate Cameron Hanekom, whose versatility could see him play 6, 7 and 8.

“Erasmus, in the 2024 season, has used 49 players in 10 Test matches, but it is a core group of 35 that won him the Rugby Championship title and it is the same players who should win him all three Tests in November.”

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