Bok coach Rassie Erasmus. Picture: Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images
An almost embarrassed and sad Rassie Erasmus is set to name a full-strength Springbok matchday-23 later Tuesday for the Rugby Championship showdown with Argentina in Mbombela this Saturday (5pm).
Having beaten the Wallabies twice in Australia and also picked up two home wins against the All Blacks, the Boks stumbled against the Pumas in Santiago last weekend, ensuring the competition will be decided in the final match this weekend.
As things stand the Boks have 19 log points to the Pumas’ 14, while New Zealand and Australia are out of the running.
Erasmus left seven frontline players at home last week for the trip to South America as he backed several fringe players for the match, which the Boks led 17-0 at one stage, but lost 29-28. The Bok coach is now set to unleash those rested players, in what should be a very powerful matchday-23.
Erasmus didn’t hide his hurt after the loss in Santiago. “We feel sad and even embarrassed,” he said after the match. “The people of South Africa will feel the same.
“But we have a chance to redeem ourselves and try finish off and win the championship.”
Regarding his team selection for this week, Erasmus said: “It will be a very tough match in Mbombela.
“The guys who rested will come into the mix. We knew we were taking a bit of a gamble leaving seven guys at home (last week). But it was important for some of the younger guys to experience playing in Argentina and they’ll be better for it in future.
“Obviously the loss is not nice … but we now look ahead to Mbombela and there should be a lekker gees there this weekend. It’s all set up to be a humdinger … they need five points, we need a bonus point.”
The seven “rested” players who didn’t travel to Argentina are Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe and Willie le Roux.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu is apparently carrying an injury and won’t play this weekend, meaning Erasmus will have to pick between Handre Pollard and Manie Libbok as his flyhalf, with the other man possibly playing off the bench.
It will also be interesting to see whether Erasmus goes into the match with the usual 5-3 bench split or opts for 6-2 or even 7-1 in the decider.
The Bok team for the weekend’s match is set to be named mid-afternoon Tuesday.
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