Bok fringe players will have a chance to impress Rassie for All Blacks series

If Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus was in any doubt about what the South African rugby public cares about, he quickly learned the truth.

At his media briefing on Tuesday, the Bok mentor tried to steer the conversation to the 8 August clash against Argentina, out of respect for them and because of his own team’s immediate focus.

But just about every question looked beyond the Pumas’ clash and targeted “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR)” series, starting on 7 August when the All Blacks take on the Stormers in Cape Town in the first of an eight-match series. Another three provincial matches follow before four Tests on consecutive weekends, starting on 22 August at Ellis Park.

Understandably, Erasmus needs to focus on what’s directly in front of him, admitting that it would be no good for the Boks to head into the All Black series on the back of a loss in Buenos Aires.

But there is just no escaping the big one. The entire rugby world will only have eyes on South Africa in the coming six weeks.

Door open

Although Erasmus cut his squad to 44 players recently, he name-checked the likes of Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier and Sharks flyhalf Vusi Moyo as players who could force their way back into Test contention.

That would be based on their performances for their franchises against the All Blacks. In a way, Erasmus indicated that this is an open trial for what is a long series. It suggests the All Blacks’ provincial fixtures are more than warm-ups for the tourists.

In Papier’s case, rather than travel with the group to Buenos Aires, he’ll line up for the Bulls against the All Blacks on 15 August, a match Erasmus specifically said gives Papier a chance to impress in a way training alongside the Boks wouldn’t.

Moyo has been earmarked for similar treatment at the Sharks, suggesting that even though he was named in the Bok squad, he is likely to be released to face the All Blacks in his club’s colours.

Erasmus indicated that this was a pragmatic approach rather than any uncertainty over his depth chart.

“Embrose [Papier] is a classic example [of a player not in the squad but still in the mix],” said Erasmus. “We have to give game time to Krappies [Morné van den Berg] and Cobus Reinach, so the two of them will go on tour to Argentina.

“If we took Embrose on tour as well, and he doesn’t play [against Argentina] he won’t have the opportunity to train with the Bulls as they prepare to play against the All Blacks.

“Herschel Jantjies doesn’t have any club commitments, so he will also tour.

“It will be interesting: How does Embrose do against the All Blacks? How does Vusi go for the Sharks against them? We will try and release a few guys who are not involved in the first Test.”

Only prop Ox Nché and utility forward Franco Mostert remain unavailable through injury, with the rest of the group, including flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who came through training sessions this week, ready to play.

“The squad for the RGR will only be 100% finalised after the Argentina match because we will be releasing players to their franchises,” said Erasmus.

“Taking players on tour without being able to give him a game for his franchise against the All Blacks would not be the right thing, but we also don’t want to release players if we’re not 100% sure we’re covered in those positions for the All Black Tests.

“So as far as we can release players without jeopardising squad depth, we’ll try to do so. We might also still release more players from the group if they don’t get enough game time in the Springbok Tests.”

Contrasting styles?

When asked if he saw the meetings against the All Blacks, especially Dave Rennie’s All Blacks, as a clash of styles, Erasmus was noncommittal.

After his first three Tests in charge, Rennie’s team has played with a higher ball-in-hand approach and kicked second-least out of all teams in the opening rounds. The Boks kicked from hand the most.

In simple terms, it looks to be shaping up between the Boks’ aerial assault and contestable-kick strategy versus the All Blacks’ handling, possession-based strategy. But will it be so straightforward?

“I haven’t really studied their squad yet because we’re focused on Argentina,” said Erasmus.

“The only thing that has stood out for me at the moment is that they have only chosen three scrumhalves. With four provincial games, it appears that all three will have to be involved in every game.

“In terms of styles, we have the same question ourselves. If we played Sacha, Handré [Pollard] or Manie [Libbok] at flyhalf, would one mean a kicking game and another mean more of a running game by us?

“Our style will be determined by who we pick and what we learn from how the All Blacks go in the matches against the clubs.”

The Bok squad assembled in Johannesburg on Sunday and had two days of training. They will enjoy a day off on Wednesday to rest and recuperate before wrapping up their on-field preparations on Thursday.

The group will then return home for a few days, while the squad travelling to Argentina — which will be announced on Saturday — will travel to South America in two different groups that day, with the rest of the players returning to their training base in Johannesburg to begin their preparations for the four-Test series against the All Blacks.

“First and foremost, we want to beat Argentina — just like every other team, we want to win every Test match we play,” said Erasmus.

“Then there’s the bigger picture — the Rugby World Cup, which is close to a year away — but you also have to respect the team you play next week.” DM