VIDEO: The real reason why Rassie made 11 changes
WATCH as Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus speaks about the reasoning behind the 11 changes made to his side’s starting line-up for the second Test against Italy.
Erasmus was left frustrated after the opening Test at Loftus Versfeld last week when an inexperienced Azzurri outfit made life difficult for the Boks, especially during the second half.
During the post-match aftermath, Erasmus took responsibility for his side’s lacklustre performance, stating that it wasn’t necessarily the players’ fault, but the Boks’ brain trust that got their selections wrong in the build-up to the first Test.
“It is not the players who make the mistakes, but rather us, the coaches, who didn’t press the right buttons or pull the right strings during the week.
“We can’t just point fingers at them.
“So, we will have to relook,” Erasmus said at the post-match press conference last week.
Erasmus kept to his word, as a new-look Bok side that includes three potential debutants on the bench – Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Cobus Wiese, and Ethan Hooker – will tackle Italy in Gqeberha.
There’s also a noticeable change for the No.13 jersey, which will be donned by regular Test wing Canan Moodie as the latest Bok captain, Jesse Kriel, was dropped from the matchday squad.
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Erasmus admitted that there were players who were initially earmarked to get a second shot against Italy, but were left out and might get an opportunity against Georgia next week.
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“I felt immediately after the game [at Loftus Versfeld] that it [the team’s performance] was frustrating, but then we don’t look deep at what happened in the game.
“Most of the guys that are selected for this week, barring one or two guys, would’ve played this game, and hopefully we can give them a chance against Georgia.
“But the changes are more out of respect for Italy as opposed to our performance itself.
“We had an experienced team [last week] and I guess that makes it difficult for the opposition to play against, but very easy to analyse in terms of how you know the strengths and weaknesses of your opposition.
“Whereas it was tough for us to analyse their [unknown] players’ individual strengths and weaknesses as we haven’t played against them before.
“Now we had one game against them. The guys who played last week would’ve transferred a lot of knowledge to the guys playing this week.
“So, I’d say there were two or three guys that missed out this weekend [on selection] but will probably get a chance next weekend [against Georgia].”
