Rassie addresses injury blows with 'cover' statement

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says South Africa is blessed with loads of talented players who can step into the boots of injured players like Aphelele Fassie, Lood de Jager, and Jean-Luc du Preez.

Erasmus admitted that it was disappointing losing players such as Fassi, De Jager, and Du Preez to injuries, but he was satisfied with the depth they had in the squad.

Last weekend, the Boks recorded a resounding victory over the All Blacks in Wellington, but they were counting their walking wounded after the bruising encounter.

Fassi had to be replaced towards the end of the first half because of an injury that looks likely to keep the Sharks player off the field for some time.

He was wearing a moon boot as he watched the rest of the game from the sideline.

De Jager injured his shoulder in that Wellington battle, and it is not the first time he has had shoulder trouble. He tore his rotator cuff muscle off the bone last year. After surgery and several months of recovery, he was back to full fitness but had to leave the field in the ninth minute with his arm wrapped in his jersey.

Bok No. 8 Du Preez is unlikely to feature for the Springboks again this year after the 30-year-old, 14-Test loose forward injured his knee in training ahead of the Eden Park Test.

The ever-growing injury list also includes Gerhard Steenekamp, Frans Malherbe, Salmaan Moerat, and Kurt-Lee Arendse, who have all been on the injury list for different durations in the last few months.

Following medical assessments in camp on Thursday, there is a possibility that a further three players could be added to the group later in the week, with a group of up to 30 players set to travel to London for the final match.

“This group of players has been together for over 13 weeks now, and they’ve shown that they are the right players for this big task against the Pumas,” said Erasmus.

“We’ve chopped and changed our squad a fair bit this season, playing a total of 46 players in our last eight matches, including in the Barbarians match, and by training together almost daily, we are confident that these are the players who can give us the best shot to try to retain the title.”

Erasmus added, “The fact that the younger and older guys have been training with one another and against one another on the field almost daily really paid off last weekend, and we have no doubt that if we continue showing our faith in these players, we will get the best out of them.

“The bonus for us is that we still have so many players who have been in the system and attended our alignment camps in the last few seasons, and who have been knocking hard on the door, but unfortunately, we could only select a limited number of players for these matches, so we will continue to keep an eye on the others.”

“We are blessed with talent in South Africa, so as sad as we are for players such as Lood, Jean-Luc, Aphelele, Kurt-Lee, and many others, we have capable guys to fill their boots,” said Erasmus.

“We are also fortunate to have so many versatile players who can play a few different positions, and they are equally adept in each of them, regardless of what position they play.”

Looking forward to the clashes against the Pumas, who moved up to sixth spot on the world rankings following their victory over the Wallabies in Sydney last weekend, Erasmus expected colossal battles against them.

He added that he had no doubt their victories against Australia, New Zealand, and the British & Irish Lions would fuel their motivation going into these encounters.

“The Pumas are a tough and physical outfit, and they’ll come to South Africa full of confidence after beating Australia 28-26 last weekend and knowing that they beat us in Santiago Del Estero last year, as well as the All Blacks earlier in the competition,” said Erasmus.

“They have quality forwards and backs, and they play with guts and passion, so we know it will take two great performances to beat them and hopefully reclaim the Rugby Championship title.

“The next two games are going to be vital for all four teams because there is so little between them in terms of the way they play, and given how close the standings are. Any team can still win the competition, so there is no margin for error, and every point will count. These are going to be massive battles.”