VIDEO: Boks count their wounded after Cardiff win
SPOTLIGHT: A few of South Africa’s United Rugby Championship franchises will be sweating over some key players after South Africa’s 45-12 win over Wales in Cardiff.
The match was South Africa’s final Test of the season and the win ensured that they ended their end-of-year tour unbeaten after wins against England and Scotland earlier in November.
Despite Saturday’s scoreline, Erasmus said Wales provided a fierce physical challenge and it took its toll on some of his players.
Star lock Eben Etzebeth was the biggest casualty after left left the field in in the 30th minute.
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“Did you see what they did to Siya [Kolisi] on the touchline and what they did to Eben,” Erasmus told reporters after the match.
“They [Wales] had so much line speed on defence, which we didn’t expect.
“It wasn’t a walk in the park. We’ve got a few injuries – Elrigh’s ribs, Eben’s back and Wilco [Louw] has got a swollen eye, so they smashed us today [Saturday].
“It took a helluva lot of hard work from us, so Wales don’t lack physicality.
Erasmus added: “The doctors are currently busy assessing them. Elrigh has a rib and that takes time.
“Jasper [Wiese] got a stinger on his shoulder and we will know in the next three or four days how it will react.
“Eben’s lower back got sore and I didn’t see a point in him grinding it out for another 40 minutes while the Welsh boys were coming hard at him when he had the ball.”
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The URC will resume next weekend and Erasmus was asked how some of the Boks will be managed over the next few weeks.
“With our union, MyPlayers, there is a plan on when they get rested and that is addressed with the franchises.
“We just know how we have to follow the protocols.
“Each franchise knows what window they have to rest players and how many weeks they have to rest players, so every single player is different.”
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