VIDEO: Rassie is going to stick to 'Plan A'
South Africa and Argentina will head to Nelspruit for a Rugby Championship decider in the Mbombela Stadium next Saturday.
Los Pumas ended the Springboks’ unbeaten run with a thrilling 29-28 win at Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades this past Saturday.
Replacement flyhalf Manie Libbok missed a penalty from 35 metres in the last minute which would have secured the title for South Africa.
Argentina will have to beat South Africa with a bonus point in a return match in Mbombela next Saturday and prevent the Springboks from securing any points.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said he will stick to his predetermined selection plan for next week.
Erasmus was adamant that the players who were rested will come back into the selection mix.
Bongi Mbonambi (hooker), Frans Malherbe (prop), Pieter-Steph du Toit (loose forward), Damian de Allende (centre), Cheslin Kolbe (wing) and Willie le Roux (fullback) did not travel to Argentina this past week.
Captain Siya Kolisi travelled with the team, but did not play.
He got some experience of what it is like in the coaches’ box.
(WATCH as Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus explains why the weekend’s loss won’t force him to change his pre-determined plan for Nelspruit….)
“We wanted to win this game,” he said of the one-point loss at Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero.
“We took a bit of a gamble to leave those guys at home.
“The loss is not nice and we are sad about it, some of the younger guys to experience this stadium [Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades], Argentinean support and the way Argentina opens up the game, in the future they will know how it feels.
“They will know next time when we say it is ‘brutal’ when you come here.
“Those guys will come back into the mix like we planned beforehand.”
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