Dual Perth goal for Rassie’s Springboks against Wallabies

At first glance, it would seem that Rassie Erasmus’ revamp of the Springbok side to play the Wallabies in Perth has compromised the team’s chances of winning the Rugby Championship – but the world-champion coach does nothing without careful thought.

One Erasmus eye is undoubtedly on the 2027 World Cup, but the coach also wants to win trophies in between World Cups.

And he will believe that even with making 10 changes for tomorrow’s Rugby Championship showdown at Optus Stadium (11.45am SA time start), he can win the game while growing depth, plus rest some key players for the upcoming matches against the All Blacks in South Africa.

“We made it clear from the outset this season that one of our main goals is to build squad depth as we look ahead to the next World Cup here in Australia, and we feel there is no better way to test some of the younger players and assess where we are as a group against a top-tier nation, especially away from home, in this match,” said Erasmus.

“We have a group of about 45 players that are part of our wider squad this season, and we’ve seen what most of these players can do.

“We have full faith in the younger generation of players coming through, and we feel this is the right time to test them against an Australian outfit that will be desperate to bounce back strongly from last weekend.”

Outside of World Cups, the Boks are notorious for failing to back up a big win with another.

By fielding a markedly different-looking team, Erasmus is avoiding this issue for now. He would prefer addressing it when the Boks go back-to-back against the Kiwis at the end of this month in Johannesburg and a week later in Cape Town.

In 2022, the Boks destroyed the Kiwis in Mbombela, only to fade the next week at Ellis Park.

A fresher example was last month when Ireland were outmuscled in Pretoria, but a week later, the Boks could not bring the same intensity in Durban and were beaten up in the first 20 minutes.

Unquestionably, Erasmus feels that the team picked for Perth can do the job against a weak Wallabies team, and with a raft of veterans rested for the All Black game at Ellis Park on August 31, he is giving the Boks a good chance of taking a strong lead in the Rugby Championship.

An underestimated fact about the Bok match-day squad is the experience on the bench. How often in international rugby do you see a starting XV with a total of 331 caps, and a bench fielding 419?

On that bench, there are double World Cup winners Malcolm Marx, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, Kwagga Smith and Handré Pollard, while winners in France last year are Ox Nche, Grant Williams and Manie Libbok.

Putting in the work 💪🏉#Springboks#ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/ffggXqnxYb

— Springboks (@Springboks) August 14, 2024

The young guns will start the match and play their hearts out to impress, while Erasmus has plenty of insurance on the bench.

It should also be considered that the players in the starting pack are not strangers to each other – five of the eight have just completed a season together with the Bulls.

Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Johan Grobbelaar are in the front row; Elrigh Louw and Marco van Staden are in the loose trio, while lock Ruan Nortjé adds leadership experience that will assist captain Salmaan Moerat.

Erasmus does not doubt that his team will play with passion and skill.

“All of the younger players made a strong impression against Portugal and in the other Tests in which they received an opportunity to showcase their skills.

“We believe that their hunger to play, combined with their individual skills will be a fantastic driving force for them to build on the result in Brisbane.”

Wallaby Team

15 Tom Wright 14 Andrew Kellaway 13 Len Ikitau 12 Hunter Paisami 11 Marika Koroibete 10 Noah Lolesio 9 Nic White 8 Harry Wilson 7 Carlo Tizzano 6 Rob Valetini 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 4 Angus Blyth 3 Allan Alaalatoa (captain) 2 Josh Nasser 1 Angus Bell.

Bench: 16 Billy Pollard 17 James Slipper 18 Zane Nonggorr 19 Tom Hooper 20 Seru Uru 21 Tate McDermott 22 Ben Donaldson 23 Max Jorgensen.