Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus explained his reasoning behind the seven changes he made to his side, which will face the All Blacks on Saturday.
There’s never a dull moment with Doctor Rassie. The double World Cup-winning coach kept the surprises coming with a Monday morning team release this week. Breaking down the starting XV, it’s certainly business up front and party at the back.
Grizzly veterans make up the forwards, while lively scrumhalf Cobus Reinach partners with the talented Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to kickstart the backline. There, Erasmus revealed a new centre pairing in Damian Willemse and Canan Moodie, while the inexperienced Ethan Hooker is on the wing. The free-flowing Aphelele Fassi replaces veteran Willie le Roux at fullback.
With youngsters aplenty out wide, it’s clear that the Boks’ Brains Trust has the future in mind. Erasmus explained the value in blooding youth against the best in the world, and how last week’s 24-17 loss shaped his decisions.
“Not a lot of players get the opportunity to play in New Zealand,” he told the press on Monday.
“The plan was to win and give some players the experience of the pressure of playing the top-ranked team in the world. Maybe not so many, but we would have made changes.”
Reinach, Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Hooker all came off the bench at Eden Park and very nearly inspired a comeback.
“I thought the guys that came on brought a lot of energy and brought a lot of fight,” he added.
“After 15 minutes, we were 0-14 down. And then they only scored another 10 points. That is irrelevant, because we still lost the game, and that’s the bottom line.
“I do think the energy that the guys who came on [brought], maybe changed my mind. We want to get some energetic guys onto the field who have never played here before.
“If we win this game, we’re back in the Rugby Championship mix and we’re still alright in the world rankings.”
Round 4 of the 2025 Rugby Championship kicks off at 09:00 SA time with the Boks up against the All Blacks in Wellington.
