South Africa: Rassie Erasmus pleased with Springboks depth ahead of the Rugby World Cup
South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus believes the Springboks’ depth is in rude health following the 2022 Test season.
After a year that yielded eight wins from 13 Tests, Erasmus believes the Boks achieved one of their core goals of expanding their squad depth.
Missed opportunities in 2020
South Africa were one of the Test nations that did not play any matches in 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Erasmus says the Springboks used 2022 to make up for lost time.
In an interview with the Rapport newspaper, Erasmus said the planned Tests in 2020 would have better prepared the side for the World Cup, but the Springboks had strengthened their depth this year.
“In 2020, we were supposed to play two Tests against Scotland, and we were also going to play against Georgia, which would have been a soft landing after the 2019 World Cup. We’d have been able to test new players in those games, but ultimately 2020 was just gone due to Covid,” he explained.
“In 2021, we couldn’t catch up with what we had planned for 2020 because you only play the British & Irish Lions every 12 years. After that series, we had the Rugby Championship and to make things more complicated, Covid-19 was at its worst last year.”
Getting it right in 2022
Despite the setbacks, Erasmus is upbeat ahead of South Africa’s Rugby World Cup defence next year in France and believes they are in a better position regarding their player pool than in 2018.
“We wanted to blood in young players to test at the highest level against different opponents, and we finally did that this year,” he said.
“People say now that we have depth in almost every position, it’ll be difficult to pick a 33-man squad for the World Cup, but it’s actually easier.
“The difficulty in selection lies in not having options, like in 2018, for example, when we only had one scrum-half and not three to pick from.
“Having this kind of depth is super exciting, and all the players have been given road maps they have to work on.
“In the end, the 33 guys will be selected on the technical and fundamental strength of the progress they’ve done in terms of their road maps.”
New caps and successful depth development
Springboks’ head coach Jacques Nienaber capped 10 new players in 2022 with varied success.
Elrigh Louw and Salmaan Moerat earned Test debuts in the first match against Wales in July, with the likes of Deon Fourie, Evan Roos, Grant Williams, Ruan Nortje, Nthuthuko Mchunu and Kurt-Lee Arendse debuting in the second Test.
Canan Moodie debuted in the Rugby Championship, with Manie Libbok completing the 10 during the Autumn Nations Series.
Moodie and Arendse were two standout success stories from the year, adding to the already lethal winger options of Cheslin Kolbe and Makazole Mapimpi.
Meanwhile, Manie Libbok impressed during the November internationals and is already pressing for one of the fly-half spots at the World Cup.
Although the success of the newly capped players will please the Bok coaching staff, other players have stepped up and provided further depth.
Damian Willemse showed promising signs at fly-half for South Africa, while his ability to play at inside centre and full-back adds further value to the squad. His fellow playmaker Willie le Roux was back to his best form for most of the year.
Jaden Hendrikse edged ahead of Faf de Klerk, Herschell Jantjies and Cobus Reinach as the starting scrum-half for a large chunk of the year, strengthening an already stacked position.
Jasper Wiese rose to the responsibility of filling Duane Vermuelen’s boots, while Franco Mostert enjoyed stellar form at lock and on the flank this year.
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