VIDEO: The seven-one split 'will never be normalised'
SPOTLIGHT: Rassie Erasmus concedes that the seven-one bench split tactic will always attract the critics.
The Boks made headlines on Friday when they revealed seven forwards on the bench for their Murrayfield clash against Scotland on Sunday.
It’s a tactic that caused a stir last year when the Boks first introduced it ahead of the World Cup in a warm-up match against the All Blacks.
They also used it during the tournament, most notably in the 12-11 victory over their old foes in the Final.
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“It will never be normalised because a lot of people are for it and against it,” said Erasmus.
“We as a team certainly understand it.
“We have this simple philosophy. Siya [Kolisi] knows it and he is the [squad] captain.
“If he is not productive and if he has the kind of game where it wears him down so much and we sub him in the 60th minute, it just means he burned his petrol in the first 60 minutes and he can’t go anymore.
“Sometimes you get a guy like Kwagga [Smith] who doesn’t get tired and then you are thinking: ‘Should I put Pieter-Steph [du Toit] at No.5 and keep Kwagga on?’
“Sometimes players are just feeling really great on the day, and they do a helluva lot of work and they keep on doing it.”
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Erasmus added: “We know there are risks.
“It’s not that we want to jinx a player, but we would love to see how it works if three backline players get injured because we think we are prepared for that.
“We haven’t faced that and somewhere we have to face it.
“Maybe not this Sunday and I don’t think we will play a seven-one [split] again because after that [match] it is normal turnarounds.”
After Sunday’s Test, the Boks will face England six days later at Twickenham Stadium.
They will end their tour a week later against Wales in Cardiff.
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