SPRINGBOK coach Rassie Erasmus says cutting short the Springboks break doesn’t necessarily relate to their performances against Italy and Georgia, but more to do with working with a streamlined squad ahead of the Rugby Championship.
Erasmus and his staff had close to 50 players in camp for the two-Test series against Italy and the one-off match against Georgia. But the squad of players have since been cut to 37 ahead of their opening two Rugby Championship matches against Australia at home next month.
Erasmus admitted that this week’s training camp was not originally part of their schedule, as the players were supposed to enjoy a two-week break after the win over Georgia at the Mbombela Stadium.
But the players were called back a week earlier to prepare for their Rugby Championship opener against the Wallabies at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on August 16. The Springboks and Aussies will then travel to Cape Town for their second match a week later on August 23.
Many supporters and pundits feel that the Springboks weren’t quite at their best against Italy and Georgia, despite putting up 45-point winning margins in the final two Test matches against the visiting teams.
But such are the expectations surrounding the Boks and standard they have set over the last few years as the best team on the planet, that supporters demand perfection in almost every Test.
However, Erasmus says calling the players back a week earlier was more about working closely with individuals, which is something that they struggled to do with the amount of players who were in camp during the incoming tours.
“These two weeks of camp will give us time to align as coaches, as well as on the conditioning aspects for the players and to take stock from a medical perspective, so it’s important in assisting us to get to where we want to be against three good countries in the series,” Erasmus said.
“If you just look at the scoreboard, almost 200 points for us and 40 against us, you can probably say that’s not too bad,” Erasmus added, referring to the matches against Italy and Georgia.
“We didn’t cut the squad to drop guys, because this is only for the Australian Tests, but we can have a lot more one-on-one time with players.
“We always knew, having such a big squad in the beginning, it will be tough. But the positive will be, if you do get injuries during the Rugby Championships or on the End-of-Year Tour, you have a player who is comfortable and will be able to play.”
“But you do lose a bit of attention individually.”
Erasmus says he is not surprised by Australia’s performance in the second Test against the British and Irish Lions. The Wallabies suffered a heartbreaking late defeat in the second Test in Melbourne to concede the series
But they really showed up in the physical stakes, with returning lock Will Skelton and No 8 Rob Valetini making a big impact in the first half against the touring team.
“We always knew that our first few matches would not be as tough as the Rugby Championship, even though the opposition (Italy and Georgia) was competitive and physical, but we are now going up against teams with solid game plans and a different intensity,” Erasmus said.
“Australia would have also come off a British and Irish Lions series by playing high-intensity matches by the time we face them. So it will be a challenging tournament.”
On the injury front, Erasmus confirmed that they don’t have any new injury concerns. Utility back Canan Moody was struggling with a hand injury, but is back at training, while star wing Cheslin Kolbe is expected to be up and running from a knee injury on Monday.
