A youthful looking Springbok side now has a tough task of beating the All Blacks in Wellington to keep the Rugby Championship alive.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is hopeful that his new-look team will revitalise their Rugby Championship campaign and get them a win over the All Blacks in Wellington this coming weekend.
A disappointing 24-17 defeat at Eden Park last Saturday means the Boks have just one win and two losses to their name, after the Wallabies picked up a win at Ellis Park before the Boks bounced back in Cape Town last month.
Their chances of retaining the Rugby Championship title hang by a thread, and a win at the “Cake Tin” is needed to keep them in the mix, as a loss will likely leave them with too much to do in their final two matches against Argentina.
Erasmus has thus shaken things up in an effort to get the response he wants, particularly in the backline where he has made five personnel changes.
Last weekend the Bok backline boasted an impressive 434 caps, while this coming weekend that has been reduced to 173, with inexperienced players such as Ethan Hooker (two caps, left wing), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (12 caps, flyhalf) and Aphelele Fassi (14 caps, fullback) coming in.
There are two changes in the forwards, including Jasper Wiese returning from suspension to play at No 8, while Lood de Jager is back in the second row.
On notice
A lot of the old guard will have been put on notice by Erasmus’ team selection this week, as players like Eben Etzebeth, Handre Pollard, Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende will likely not have envisioned themselves being left out of a match 23 in New Zealand.
However, Erasmus has insisted the team changes this week aren’t only in reaction to the way the team played in Auckland.
“We all know that there were a lot of guys who didn’t play well, and a lot of coaches who didn’t coach well last weekend, myself included,” explained Erasmus.
“So, if I had to look at the positives, the way the game ended felt like our World Cup pool match against Ireland (in 2023), where we clawed our way back into the game but couldn’t score at the end (the Boks losing13-8).
“I thought the guys who came on (in the second half in Auckland) brought a lot of energy and brought a lot of fight. After 15 minutes we were 14-0 down, and then they only scored 10 more points. In the end that was irrelevant because we lost the game and that’s the bottom line.
“But I do think that the energy that the guys produced when they came on maybe changed my mind and made me think that it would be worth bringing in some (young) energetic guys who have never played here before.
“So, we win this game and we’re back in the Rugby Championship mix.”
