The actual reason behind the Boks' 'army' squad
Today at 05:00 AM
SPOTLIGHT: Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus explained the reasoning behind selecting a total of 82 players to attend the team's first alignment camps of the season.
Erasmus invited 56 domestic players to attend an in-person alignment camp, followed by 26 additional players for a virtual camp consisting of mostly overseas-based players.
The double World Cup-winning coach explained his reasoning for the big number at a press conference in Cape Town on Wednesday.
"You have to be honest with each other.
"Faf's [de Klerk] last Test was against Ireland before he sustained a long-term injury.
"We can't throw him away because he's playing well [in Japan].
"Cobus [Reinach] was worth gold for us last season alongside Grant [Williams] and Jaden [Hendrikse].
"Krappie [Morne van den Berg] is playing excellent."
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He added: "A lot of these players [in the group] probably won't play and will only receive an opportunity after 2027.
"But to have those players in our alignment camps keeps the older guys on their toes and vice versa.
"After these alignment camps, there are 13 weeks before we head into our physical camp.
"There are between six and 13 [franchise] games left.
"Some teams will go further in their respective competitions than others and will most likely play 13 games.
"Others will probably just play six [games] if they only play the league matches.
"So after these alignment camps, the squad won't consist of 80-odd players but will probably go down to 55 [players] and drop down to 40 at the following camp.
"We just want to tell everyone: 'this is the programme, get yourself ready and lets see how we can work together to make you a better player.'"
