Rassie Erasmus: We still haven’t picked our best Springbok team
· The South African
Rassie Erasmus has delivered his typical masterstrokes with selections at the start of the 2026 season, mixing up the Springbok team and exposing new players while still ensuring there is enough cohesion to secure victories.
Erasmus and his coaching staff are ultimately taking a long-term view in planning for the 2027 World Cup, but it’s likely that there will be a shift in selection policy when the All Blacks soon arrive for a four-Test tour.
Visit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.
It’s during these Tests that the focus will shift to settling on a first-choice 23, although there is the one-off game against Argentina on 8 August when another new-look team will likely be put through their paces.
“If you look at the Championship, we collected 15 points, and we are at the top of the table after playing against England and Scotland, who are in the top five in the world,” Erasmus said.
“I have to be honest, we tried to build our player depth more than going for outright wins in the tournament. Obviously, we’ll park the tournament now and only play it in November again. A lot will happen between now and then. But we know we have plenty to fix.
“But to be honest, in the last few games, we haven’t selected our best 23 yet, and I’ve found out from experience that a year from a World Cup you must ensure you have depth until a fourth player per position. In that respect, we are happy with the three Tests and where we are.”
Rassie Erasmus pleased with how proceedings are progressing for Springboks
The Springbok coach said it was good to see that selection strategies and certain risk-taking plans were coming off.
“We managed to give every player some good opportunities (during the July Tests),” Erasmus added.
“Yes, I said we are building towards the World Cup (in 2027), but we still have the Greatest Rivalry tour, and hopefully if the plans come together and we do well against Argentina, we will see some more players come through in that game.
Eyes on the prize
Erasmus said a squad of 26 would be sent to prepare for the game against Argentina, while a group of 15 or 16 players will remain behind with some coaches to prepare for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry against New Zealand.
Erasmus said Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu would be ready for the Argentina tour, although Handre Pollard had pulled his hamstring, as the coach looked ahead: “Argentina is going to be tough – like Wales they’ve had our number a few times and our biggest loss was to them since we’ve been together from 2018. We are just trying to build our game and I think today was another step forward.”