Kolisi decision and All Blacks narrative addressed by Erasmus

REACTION: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has taken a cautious approach with Siya Kolisi, opting not to risk the captain for Saturday’s opening Test against New Zealand despite confirming that the loose forward was fit enough to play.

Kolisi trained fully with the Springboks this week, but Erasmus believes there is little value in pushing the veteran into action with three more Tests against the All Blacks to come.

“Siya probably could have played but risking him this weekend and then getting to match three of the series with a lot of walking wounded is something we don’t want,” Erasmus said.

“Siya trained well with us this week and although we could have selected him for this clash, we thought it would be best to select Paul [de Villiers] for this weekend’s game.

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“We are playing four Tests against the All Blacks and Paul has been playing well, so we are excited to give him a chance this weekend in what will be his first Test match against New Zealand, while taking a precautionary approach to Siya’s return.

“We have a solid group of players, and each one of them deserves their places in the squad, so we will approach team selection week by week.”

The decision is also indicative of the bigger picture for the Springboks, with Erasmus stressing that selection will be based on form, fitness and the specific demands of each Test rather than simply picking his strongest available XV every week.

He explained the decision to pair Eben Etzebeth with Ruan Nortje in the second row, with Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert missing from the matchday squad.

Mostert has barely played in recent weeks after injury, while De Jager has also had limited game time.

“Franco is definitely undercooked. If you look at his minutes in the last six weeks, it’s four minutes. He got injured really early,” Erasmus explained.

“Lood has struggled a lot with different things in the last seven, eight months and he only got about 40 minutes against Argentina.”

Erasmus believes Saturday’s Test should also be viewed in the context of a much longer series rather than as a definitive showdown.

“This game on Saturday is definitely not the game that will determine the winner,” he said.

“We’ve seen it in the Lions series; we’ve seen it many times in World Cup pools.

“You lose a pool game, and it is about who’s still standing and how many men you’ve still got fit and ready to go.”

*Also read: No Kolisi as Rassie reveals Bok team for All Blacks clash

Boks ready for All Blacks’ promised speed

The Springboks also expect New Zealand to try to impose the fast, high-intensity style that has been repeatedly discussed by the All Blacks and New Zealand media in the build-up to the Test.

Erasmus has dismissed suggestions that the Springboks deliberately slow matches down but said his side has prepared for the speed New Zealand have promised.

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“We’ll probably do the things that we’ve been training for the last six weeks, and especially the last two weeks with the guys staying back in South Africa when we went to Argentina. Most of those guys are in the team,” he said.

“We’ll have to handle their speed and intensity, which they are very proud of and mention a lot.

“They’ve been preaching [the gameplan] all over in the media. So, I guess preaching that and making supporters believe that’s the way they’re going to play.

“I’ve got no doubt that they will not play that way.”

Erasmus also highlighted the importance of the breakdown, particularly given the amount of time each team wants to spend in possession and on attack.

“As always, the team that spends most of their time on attack during the week, obviously the breakdown for them is vital. So those are the things we will have to try and counter.”

And while the Test has all the ingredients of a physical opening battle, Erasmus expects the contest to be closely matched when the squads are compared on experience and recent workload.

“I looked at the make-up of the teams, the ages, the caps, how many minutes in the last six weeks each player played and it’s fairly even.

“So, I think it’s going to be a grind.”