Much to mull over as Rassie tackles Bok cull poser

Performance will dictate which of his much-decorated warriors will play in the 2027 Rugby World Cup, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says.

The Bok coach who helped plot the team's success at the 2019 World Cup in Japan and in 2023 in France as coach and director of rugby respectively knows squad renewal is essential before the next global tournament in Australia, but he is not ready to jettison his ageing players just yet. 

The Springboks have an unusually high number of active survivors almost six years after their 2019 success. 

The Boks in their wider group still have 21 players from their squad that lifted the 2019 trophy in Japan. That is a high number, but equally, the Bok brains trust has been in pursuit of unearthing younger talent to augment their experience-rich resources. 

Their 18 double World Cup winners — Siya Kolisi, Willie le Roux, Damian Willemse, Cheslin Kolbe, Makazole Mapimpi, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Handré Pollard, Faf de Klerk, Cobus Reinach, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kwagga Smith, Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, RG Snyman, Vincent Koch, Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi — have all had game time this year. 

Lood de Jager, Thomas du Toit and Lukhanyo Am played at the 2019 World Cup, but not at the most recent instalment in France. Though Am is yet to represent the Boks this year due to a knee niggle, he has been named among the players on standby for the two Tests against the Wallabies. 

Erasmus, in the aftermath of their victory over Georgia, admitted the time has come to strike a balance between experience and emerging talent. 

He is, however, not yet prepared to discard experienced hands that could help keep the Boks on track in the build-up to the 2027 tournament in Australia. 

“For us it is about performance,” insisted the coach. “We try to calculate which guys will be there in 2027. That is why we had a camp of 45 guys. We are not 100% sure. With some guys you feel iffy. With some guys you feel they can definitely make it. Some guys are just freakish athletes.

“First, you have to make sure you put Test caps into guys so they can understand the coaching staff, how the environment works. [The aim is] getting 10-plus caps into most of the guys before we go to that World Cup and making sure we don't filter experienced players out just because they are not going to play in 2027. 

“It will be very unfair on a senior player because his Test match career can last until November 2026. He'll be done unless you pick him until then. Players don't plan their rugby lives around World Cups. They plan their lives around their age and how well they play.

“So if they are still in the top three in their position up until 2026 we will probably play those guys. Having bigger groups with younger guys coming through makes us more comfortable and confident in the Springbok jersey. I think we're OK.” 

This World Cup cycle is not his first rodeo. He took over the coaching job halfway between the 2015 and 2019 tournaments, while the Springboks' roster was severely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. They played no Tests in 2020, leaving Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber in a mad dash to again ready the troops for the next World Cup. 

“We've been doing this since before the 2019 World Cup without a lot of time doing it. In 2023 we had less Test matches but we still had a four-year cycle to develop,” he explained, an exercise in which they are well versed. 

Overall the coach is satisfied with where his team is. 

“I can't say there aren't any problems. I'm not saying that about our game, there's a lot that we have to fix. 

“I think in the age group 20 to 26, it is tough to find those guys because competitions do not allow that and because of Covid a lot of players just fell out. Or you've lost two years of guys developing. Apart from that I'd be looking for excuses. 

“I think we are on track. We are looking at the now without forgetting about the future. We know 2027 is going to be big, but we also know if we don't do well in the lead-up we might just lose momentum.”