Rassie puts his faith in ‘the locals’

It can’t have been easy for Rassie Erasmus putting together the Springbok squad. There have been plenty of injuries to key players – stars Warren Whiteley, Malcolm Marx, Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager have all been hurt – and he had to decide which players were up to being blooded as replacements in the pitiless world of international competition.

He’s also had to deal with the old debate of foreign versus local players, as there are fans who believe those who play overseas are, simply because of that, better than the locals.

In the group of 43 players, he chose just five from overseas, which shows that, as coach of the national team, he already believes South Africa’s best players are to be found inside the country.

Bravely, Erasmus has selected 17 players who have never donned a Bok jersey before, while a further seven have fewer than 10 caps under their belts. They bring energy and innovation to the backline, as well as in the pack, and all have proven themselves in the gruelling Super Rugby competition.

Wales and England will tell us whether, on the field at least, SA rugby is healthy.

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