JOHANNESBURG :Top ranked South Africa will be seeking to keep up their winning ways in the Rugby Championship, but the six matches against Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina over the next three months will also likely be used for experimentation.
Coach Rassie Erasmus has made no secret of his desire to freshen up his ageing squad and keep the Springboks on course for a third successive World Cup title, when the next tournament is hosted in 2027.
He has suggested that he might prioritise handing vital international experience to a new crop of emerging players ahead of the outcome of the Rugby Championship tests, although given his relentless competitive streak, this is only likely to be in extreme circumstances.
There is guaranteed to be more of the out-of-the-box thinking over the next few months that has turned Erasmus into a figure who deeply divides opinion. Some see his tactical manipulations as innovation, others as borderline cheating, but Erasmus’ Machiavellian moves are changing some aspects of rugby.
None more so than his loading of the replacement bench with forwards to bring on more muscle at vital junctures of the game. The uneven split between substitute forwards and backs has been quickly adopted by other test teams.
More recently, South Africa used the tactic of lifting a jumper, usually reserved for line outs, in open play to force a maul and use their power to push their way over the opponent’s goalline and score a try. It garnered both applause and derision but is not stopping Erasmus.
“I think one must be constantly thinking of new plans because if you keep doing the same old stuff, you’ll never get any advantage,” Erasmus said ahead of this weekend’s kick-off of the southern hemisphere tournament.
“We’ve got one or two other things we want to try out,” he added, creating some suspense for the upcoming clashes.
But priority for the Boks is ensuring a potent squad for the World Cup in two years. The majority of the World Cup winners from 2023 are over 30, and Erasmus is conscious that many might be past their peak in 2027.
“It’s not easy to predict who is going to be available, and that’s why we’ve been working with an expanded squad of 45 players,” he explained.
Recent tests against Italy and Georgia saw several new caps.
“We won’t be throwing the old guys away, but we need to give as many chances as we can to up-and-coming talent,” he added.
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
