Springboks will need to box clever with squad rotation this season
· Citizen
The Springboks will need to box clever over the coming season with their squad rotation, due to their need to get game time into players ahead of next year’s World Cup, while they also have a large number of injuries who will be returning over their international campaign.
They kick things off this coming weekend in Gqeberha with a double header, as the Boks take on the Barbarians and the SA A team fronts up against Zimbabwe, in what should be two entertaining encounters.
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During a Bok press briefing last week, coach Rassie Erasmus explained that integrating those injured players back into the group would be the biggest challenge for the team management, and getting game time for the more inexperienced players.
“I am not 100% sure if we are really sure how we are going to tackle that (squad rotation). I think as a raft of injured players come back into the system, there are only four long term ones who will come back next year, we will have a better idea,” said Erasmus.
“So I think getting those guys into the mix is almost more difficult than planning where to rest players. Players like Ethan Hooker and Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu), when they come back (from injury), will their first match be against the All Blacks?
“I think that will be the more difficult thing to manage, than rotating the squad. I think we have a good plan of what players we want to get caps into.”
Winning important
It will also be vitally important for the Boks to continue their impressive form over the past few years, which has seen them win back-to-back Rugby Championships, while they went unbeaten on their end-of-year-tour to the UK and Europe over the past two years as well.
“Winning is also important. There’s obviously the new competition (Nations Cup), that starts in mid-year and ends in November with a final at Twickenham, that’s also big for us,” said Erasmus.
“The Greatest Rivalry (against the All Blacks) is big. But if you take your eyes off Argentina (one-off match) and they klap you in Buenos Aires, or you take your eyes off Australia (one-off match) and they klap you there in Perth, and you lose momentum.
“Building momentum will be the most important thing, and then we will look at getting some game time into players who need caps before the World Cup.
“That is more individually based. The team needs to be winning and building momentum towards the World Cup, and there will be different goals for individual players who will be on their own road maps.”