Perth gamble yielded painful yet valuable RWC lessons

OPINION:  The flat showing by the starting XV in Perth compromised the Bomb Squad and highlighted a few flaws in Rassie Erasmus’ selection policy.

Over the past nine years, Erasmus’ Boks have won back-to-back World Cups, a series against the British & Irish Lions, and three Rugby Championship titles.

The greatest Bok side in history took things to the next level in 2024 and 2025 when they achieved an overall winning record of 85%.

They’ve won seven of their nine Tests in 2026, and even in the wake of their 38-42 loss to Australia in Perth, they remain the No.1 team in the world by some distance.

It’s fair to say that Erasmus and his coaches know what they’re doing.

It’s taken the better part of a decade for the South African rugby community to buy into ideas like stronger benches and regular rotation.

And yet, it’s now widely accepted that these policies and methods are geared towards long-term success.

It’s easy to understand why Erasmus rotated his team this past July – using 43 players across three Tests – and why he picked such an experimental lineup against the Wallabies this past Sunday.

While winning every match remains a priority, Erasmus is also looking to bolster the squad depth ahead of the 2027 World Cup.

Nevertheless, it’s worth asking whether he should have rotated to such a degree in Perth, and whether the balance of the team – across the starting and finishing combinations – was suited to purpose.

Several players failed an important test, and with regards to the coaches, Erasmus himself has taken responsibility for the mistakes made in the buildup.

The result has sparked some debate about South Africa’s depth a year out from the World Cup – and many critics are perhaps missing the point.

Many third- and fourth-choice players in the South African system have already proved that they have what it takes to contribute to big wins against tier-one nations.

What’s important to note is how often Erasmus has picked these fringe players alongside first- and second-choice stalwarts, to ensure that some balance is maintained across the team.

With all of the above in mind, could Erasmus have done things differently ahead of Sunday’s clash in Perth?

Morné van den Berg started the season as the third-choice scrumhalf, but has moved up the ranks after his stellar performances in the series against the All Blacks.

Consider how much stronger the Boks may have been if Van den Berg had started alongside Handré Pollard in Perth. Perhaps Herschel Jantjies may have thrived in a role from the bench.

Erasmus’ back-row selections were sound in theory, given the threat of the Wallabies at the breakdown.

But Paul de Villiers and Marco van Staden hadn’t played since the first Test against New Zealand, while Elrigh Louw last featured for the Boks against Argentina in early August.

Starting Jasper Wiese at No.8 and bringing someone like Van Staden off the bench may have balanced the scales.

The same could be said for the second-row selections, with Lood de Jager starting ahead of the rusty Franco Mostert, who previously played against the Barbarians in June.

These lessons will serve the Boks in the long term.

The story continues below…

Plenty to unpack from Perth. 👀🇿🇦

A much-changed Springbok side fell 42-38 to the Wallabies, with Rassie Erasmus making 13 changes to the starting XV as he continued to build squad depth.

🔗 PLAYER RATINGS – https://t.co/raBCj7uVsT #AUSvRSA #Springboks #Wallabies pic.twitter.com/KY0owJciBP

— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) September 27, 2026

While Erasmus has every reason to experiment and rotate in the lead-up to the 2027 World Cup, he will know that balance in selection is essential and that there is a point where that balance might be compromised by excessive changes.

All that said, the plan for Perth was not inherently flawed.

Erasmus wasn’t paying lip service when he marked Les Kiss’ Wallabies as a dangerous team, but he would have noted how Australia have faded at the back end of big Tests against Ireland, France and Argentina this past season.

Stacking the Bomb Squad was a calculated move, and the ploy paid off when you consider that the Boks outscored the Wallabies 21-15 after the bench was introduced en masse in the 47th minute.

The biggest problem – and this has cost the Erasmus’ Boks before – was the fact that the starting XV left the Bomb Squad with too much to do.

The 24-17 half-time scoreline flattered the visitors.

The Wallabies made a series of handling errors during that period, and may have scored more than three tries if they had punished a flat South African combination.

During the middle period of the game – between the 38th and 68th minute – the Wallabies scored 25 unanswered points, and that was essentially where the Test was won.

While the Bomb Squad was unleashed in the 47th minute, it took a good 20 minutes for the newcomers to settle and for the forwards in particular to impose themselves.

The Wallabies conceded four yellow cards as a result of the pressure applied by a stronger Bok combination.

One wonders how the contest might have ended if the Bomb Squad had been deployed at half-time or even after 30 minutes. Erasmus, of course, has a track record of making bold and early substitutions.

Then again, that would have defeated the purpose of the exercise. Erasmus needed to see whether the new combinations could solve the problem posed by the Aussies.

Some might say that changes should have been made immediately after the break – and if winning the one-off was the Boks’ only priority, they would have been right.

When one considers what the Boks are building, however, Erasmus was correct to persist with the starting XV after half-time.

After it became clear that the starting XV had no solutions to the problem, Erasmus sent in the Bomb Squad to rescue the situation.

If the game was a World Cup play-off, Erasmus may have deployed the bench sooner in an attempt to regain control of the contest and secure the result.

As it was, the Boks still came within one score of an unlikely victory.

Both teams will take a lot of positives out of the match.

It would be fair to say that – based on their dominant performance for 60 minutes – the Wallabies deserved to win the one-off in Perth.

It was an important result for Kiss’s charges and for Australian rugby in general – and a victory over the world champions will echo into the global tournament staged on home soil next October.

Both sets of coaches will remember the context of the clash in Perth, though, and how Erasmus made 13 changes in the build-up.

If the Boks and Australia meet in the World Cup quarterfinals next year, Erasmus will field his strongest available 23.

The Wallabies may take heart from the recent result in Perth, but would do well to remember how they fell apart in the final 10 minutes.

They have to address this issue in the lead-up to the Bledisloe Cup matches against New Zealand next month, and before the World Cup.

Meanwhile, the Boks have to make adjustments ahead of the four-match tour to Europe this November.

A few senior players may well be rested for the journey to the north, and Erasmus will face a significant challenging juggling act ahead of Nations Championship clashes against Italy, France and Ireland, and the subsequent play-off in London.