Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus was unequivocal in giving his opinion about what separates great Springboks such as Siya Kolisi from the fly-by-nights that play one or two Tests.
Both coach and captain will celebrate significant milestones against France in Paris on Saturday night. Erasmus takes charge of his 50th Bok Test, having won 36 of the 49, while Kolisi becomes the ninth Bok centurion.
“You get the player who is playing for himself as a Bok and then you get the player who is playing for his country. That is why you see guys with plenty of potential play two or three Tests and fade. They don’t get it that it is about the team and South Africa, not about the individual.
“You have to serve the team,” Erasmus continued before confessing, “I was one of those players at one stage with a big ego. Some get it from the start, such as Siya. “He stayed humble and always knew that he was playing for his country and not for Siya Kolisi. That is the difference.”
Regarding his own milestone, Erasmus said he had not been aware of it.
“My 50th is not a big thing; we have not mentioned it. It got brought up in the media,” he said. “It is just awesome for me to be involved in the Springboks. “Whether it has been as a technical analyst, assistant coach, or coach, it is a lekker environment.”
Erasmus smiled and shrugged his shoulders when asked about the rhetoric coming from the French about revenge for the 2023 quarter-final loss, and the French training behind closed doors to avoid South African spies.
“People take mind games from our side too seriously. What they do in their camp really doesn’t influence what we do,” he said. “We play for South Africa, it will be a lonely place on that field in a passionate stadium, but we know millions of South Africans are cheering for us at home.”
Erasmus has picked Edinburgh loosehead prop Boan Venter to replace the injured Ox Nche.
“A guy like Boan has already played five Test matches. For us to put him there with Malcolm (Marx) and Thomas (du Toit)… we’d rather have him swim in this tough river,” Erasmus explained.
“Like I said with Zach (Porthen) last weekend against Japan, we’d rather have him there at the start to see how he manages. Unfortunately, we lost Jan-Hendrik (Wessels) to a suspension and Ox through an off-the-ball tackle, but we rate Boan very highly.”
Erasmus said it was a “tough selection” because so many players are in good form and put their hand up against Japan.
“Certainly there were difficult choices,” he said. “Leaving a guy like Ethan Hooker out of the mix, who’s really been playing well; Canan Moodie is also playing really well for us, and when Krappies (Morne van den Berg) got his chance, he played some good rugby.
“Kwagga (Smith), Marco (van Staden) and Franco (Mostert) didn’t make it… It’s never easy to pick a team, but the guys know if things go according to plan this week, who’ll be playing against Italy.”
Erasmus said he is aware that over the years, rugby has seen milestone matches get derailed because the team takes its eye off the ball and forgets the “main thing” — winning the match.
“When those big milestones come and you make them bigger than the match, you come second,” he said.
“Eben Etzebeth got his 100 (against Wales in Cape Town in 2022), Willie le Roux got his (earlier this year against Italy in Gqeberha… We got through those with wins, but we are obviously playing tougher opposition this time.
“The team focus just has to be right. Ardie Savea got his 100 when the All Blacks beat us at Eden Park.
“Nothing has changed in our preparation. The only thing is that Siya will run out ten seconds earlier than the rest of the team. Then the match starts, and performance is all that matters.
“Afterwards, at our function, we will do something proper for Siya.”
TEAMS
SPRINGBOKS – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Boan Venter.
Bench: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Ruan Nortje, 21 Andre Esterhuizen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.
FRANCE – 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Gaël Fickou (c), 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Nolann Le Garrec, 8 Mickaël Guillard, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Régis Montagne, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Baptiste Erdocio.
Bench: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifénua, 20 Hugo Auradou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Nicolas Depoortere.
