Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has cited several challenges for the delay to name the squad that will face New Zealand on Saturday in the third round of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship at Eden Park.
The coach traditionally names his team early in the week, whereas opposing teams announce theirs towards the end of the week.
“One can look at the injury list, we’ve got Kurt-Lee Arendse out, Edward out, Asenathi Ntlabakanye.
I don’t want to mention a bunch of others who are absent.
There’s quite a lot of players who are not available.
There would be a little bit of unknown, for both teams going into this match.
I guess by only announcing on Thursday it’s a little bit more even out, that we both must do a little bit of extra work, and guessing a bit,” said Erasmus.
The coach also sought to explain that scrumhalf Faf de Klerk was called up to the squad as cover for hooker Bongi Mbonambi, who is attending to a family matter.
“Faf did not replace Bongi.
Morne van den Berg suffered a niggle at training, but he trained fully today, so he’s looking good.
Faf was called up as a precaution, he is an experienced player and brings a lot to the team.
“In Bongi’s case, there’s an illness in his family, and he’ll join us as quickly as he can, but we have sufficient cover in that position with Malcom Marx, Marnus van der Merwe, and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, who can also cover prop,” explained the coach.
Erasmus said Saturday’s clash will be the biggest match for both teams since the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final in Paris, France, which the Boks won 12-11.
He sought to underplay the challenge of facing New Zealand at Eden Park, where Boks last beat the hosts in 1937 and the All Blacks have not lost since 1994.
“People are making a big deal of the Eden Park record and, of course, it adds pressure for both teams.
But if one looks back a few weeks ago, we lost against Australia at Ellis Park, and it’s now history.
For us, it’s a huge honour to get the chance to play at Eden Park, and it’s a great opportunity for us,” remarked Erasmus.
