Rassie Erasmus: ‘Injuries disrupted the way we planned to play’
INJURY UPDATE: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said injuries forced positional reshuffles, but he did not want to use that as an excuse for their disappointing defeat to the All Blacks at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Springboks lost both wings and the head injury assessment (HIA) to Kurt-Lee Arendse forced a major rethink of Erasmus’ bench strategy and backline combinations.
Erasmus confirmed Cheslin Kolbe’s injury appears to be nothing more than severe cramp, while Arendse was ruled out after failing his HIA.
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“At the moment Cheslin is our most accurate kicker and didn’t miss a kick, so that’s why he took the kicks,” Erasmus said when asked why Kolbe had been preferred over Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu from the tee.
“He’s also our only injured player. I think it was more cramp than anything else.
“Kurt-Lee’s mouthguard pinged, and the match doctor didn’t clear him.”
Arendse’s exit sparked the first major disruption.
Jesse Kriel shifted from outside centre to the wing, while Andre Esterhuizen came on in midfield instead of fulfilling the utility forward role the Springboks had planned for him.
“Kurt-Lee got an HIA, which meant we couldn’t use Andre as a forward,” Erasmus explained.
“We wanted to use him as a forward in this game, but then he had to go to centre while Jesse had to play out of position on the wing.”
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The problems compounded when Kolbe limped off in the 62nd minute.
Grant Williams moved from scrumhalf to the wing, Cobus Reinach came on at No. 9, and Erasmus was forced into another tactical adjustment.
“Cheslin got injured later. Cobus had to go to nine because we had three backs on the bench and Grant had to go to wing,” Erasmus explained.
“When we were only 13 men, getting Manie on meant Sacha [Feinbergh-Mngomezulu] had to go to fullback.
“One or two injuries were disrupting the way we actually planned to play the game.
“That’s nobody’s fault apart from the fact that we got injuries.”
Erasmus also defended loosehead prop Ox Nché, who was returning after playing just eight minutes in the previous six weeks. The coaching staff had targeted a 30- to 40-minute stint, but Nché stayed on for 45 minutes before fatigue set in.
“Ox played eight minutes in the last six weeks,” Erasmus said.
“We always thought Ox was going to last 30 or 40 minutes. He lasted 45, and I thought he really came through those minutes well.
“I don’t think Ox is the reason why we lost. Obviously, he got tired, and then we brought Gerhard [Steenekamp] on.”
The original plan had been to give Jan-Hendrik Wessels the final 15 to 20 minutes, but the injury disruptions meant those substitutions had to be altered.
While the injuries complicated matters, Erasmus felt the match slipped away during the period the Springboks were forced to defend with 13 players after receiving two yellow cards.
“I feel the match was already lost when we had two yellow cards,” he said, adding “We knew in the last 10 minutes we were going to play with 13 men.
“It’s tough to get back on the scoreboard when you’re playing with only 13 men.”
