Erasmus reveals Boks' World Cup plan behind latest team selection
REACTION: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has made it clear that South Africa’s team selection for this weekend’s Test against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld has been driven by one objective above all else: the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
While the matchday 23 includes a strong Bulls contingent and several familiar combinations that have excelled together in the United Rugby Championship, Erasmus insists the selections have little to do with Scotland and everything to do with identifying the players and partnerships capable of defending South Africa’s world title in Australia next year.
The squad features Bulls stars Embrose Papier and Handré Pollard at halfback, with the duo bringing recent experience of facing Glasgow Warriors in the URC.
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Wilco Louw, Johan Grobbelaar, Ruan Nortje, Cobus Wiese, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Canan Moodie and Elrigh Louw also feature in the 23, leading to suggestions Erasmus had opted for continuity by leaning on provincial combinations.
The Springbok coach dismissed that theory.
“This team was not picked for specific reasons surrounding Scotland,” Erasmus said.
“It was for us to make sure that when we go into the World Cup next year, we know who can do what, when and how, under pressure and not under pressure.
“So some combinations were picked more with that in mind.”
Erasmus acknowledged that the Pollard-Papier pairing does have the advantage of familiarity after steering the Bulls to the URC final, where they faced Glasgow twice in quick succession.
“It is definitely beneficial that the two of them went through to the final together and played against Glasgow,” he said.
“But with the pack, we didn’t necessarily look at Bulls combinations.
“It was actually about seeing who’s fit first of all, and then who we’d like to see perform well.”
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Rather than selecting his strongest available side, Erasmus views the July internationals as a crucial opportunity to test the depth that will underpin South Africa’s World Cup defence.
He estimates the starting XV has an average of only around 25 Test caps, with more than half the squad still in the early stages of their international careers.
“I think it’s the first time our average caps must be around 25,” Erasmus said.
“There’s 11 or 12 guys who have fewer than 10 caps.
“So we’ll definitely go into this match with much less experience than Scotland.
“This will be a nice test for a lot of these guys to see, when we get to the important part over the next year or two, who can handle it.
“We wouldn’t have them here if we didn’t think they could do the job.”
Erasmus stressed that Scotland’s identity as the next opponent had no influence on selection, saying the same approach would have been taken regardless of who South Africa were facing.
“If we played Italy first and England second, this team would still have been picked,” he said.
“It wasn’t selected because of Scotland.”
