Erasmus building depth and experience while keeping an eye on 2027 World Cup
With their opening match of the season against the Barbarians about two weeks away, Erasmus said the focus in the next two weeks and in the match will be to get their structures in place as they prepare for a challenging international season.
'It's difficult to plan around the Barbarians because they are a team consisting of players from many different countries, so our focus in that match will be our game and what we want to achieve,' he said.
'It will serve as a good opportunity for the players who have returned from Japan to get back into the swing of things and perhaps to give a few players who have not played Test rugby a feel of what it is to play at this level.'
Erasmus also gave an injury update that Trevor Nyakane, Frans Malherbe, Deon Fourie, Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom are nursing long-term injuries.
But Gerhard Steenekamp, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Ben-Jason Dixon, Augustus and Lukhanyo Am have to be cleared medically before they will be available for selection.
Jasper Wiese, Grant Williams and Makazole Mapimpi, who are also carrying niggling injuries, are expected to return to action in the coming weeks.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
5 hours ago
- The Citizen
'We were dog sh*t,' says embarrassed Erasmus after Aussie mauling
A dejected Rassie Erasmus admitted the Wallabies were better in all departments in their upset Rugby Championship win at Ellis Park. A brutally honest Rassie Erasmus couldn't hide his embarrassment after his double World Cup winning Springboks were completely outclassed by a fired up Wallabies in a 38-22 defeat in their Rugby Championship opener at Ellis Park on Saturday night. The Boks started like they had a point to prove, rushing into a 22-0 lead after just 18 minutes, before falling away over the rest of the half, leading 22-5 at the break, and then producing an abject second half, that ended with the Aussies finishing with six unanswered tries and a big bonus point win. It was a shocking team display, with a number of players producing solid efforts, but they couldn't bring it together at all, while the famed Bok 'bomb squad' failed to ignite, and instead contributed to a desperately poor final quarter that saw the visitors dot down three tries in 12 minutes to power away. Speaking after the match a dejected Erasmus said the whole coaching staff took the blame, while he praised the brilliant performance from the Wallabies, in what was their first win at Ellis Park since 1963, and just second in 12 outings at the ground. 'This is one of the most embarrassing press conferences I have done in a while. Not just because we were awful, but they were very good. I don't want to put out the old cliché of 'credit to them', because they were good, but we made them better with our performance,' said Erasmus. 'To be 22-0 up and then slip away like that. It was similar to the first Test against Italy when we were 27-3 up and then let them back in. This is worrying. We can look for excuses, but the reality is that Australia gutsed it out.' Big injury Erasmus continued: 'They had a big injury to their key forward Will Skelton, but it was us that slacked off and gave them soft tries. Overall, Australia was better than us in most departments. 'We did not scrum them, and they beat us in the lineouts. For the first 25 minutes we were good at the breakdown, but after Siya (Kolisi) got injured and Marco (van Staden) had to go for an HIA, they bullied us there too. We, as coaches, got it terribly wrong. 'It wasn't just tactical, they also physically dominated us. The longer the game went on, the stronger they got. At altitude, that's supposed to be us. It shows what (Wallabies coach) Joe (Schmidt) is building there.' Erasmus added that it was also a major blow that they allowed the Wallabies to pick up a bonus point, for scoring three more tries than the Boks, while they picked up none, and that was compounded by the All Blacks' bonus point 41-24 win over Argentina in Cordoba. 'The saddest thing is it's five (log) points for them, and we didn't even fight back to take the bonus point away. So we're on zero, they're on five. I can butter this up to sound cool and respectful, but we were just really dog sh*t on the day,' admitted Erasmus.
The South African
15 hours ago
- The South African
Rassie Erasmus: 'I'm embarrassed, we were really awful'
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said his team's defeat by Australia in their Rugby Championship match at Ellis Park was 'really awful' and admitted he was embarrassed to appear at the post-match press conference. RELATED | Springbok SHOCKER: Hey Rassie, what was THAT? 'We were really awful, and they were very good, but we made them better,' said Erasmus after the 38-22 defeat. 'We can find excuses but they gutsed it out and, yes, we gave them one or two soft tries with an intercept here and a loose pass there, but overall, they were just better than us on the day. 'They beat us in most departments. We didn't scrum them, they beat us in the lineouts, and they bullied us at the breakdown after Siya Kolisi went off and Marco van Staden had to go off for an HIA. 'We as coaches got it terribly wrong and we have to look at ourselves before we point fingers at the players. 'From now until next Saturday, we're going to take a lot of flak, but we take credit when we do well, and we have to take the flak when we do badly. 'I'm saying it with a smile not because I'm happy but I'm saying it with a smile because that's the reality of rugby and we're really disappointed and we're feeling bad for our players and we're feeling bad for our supporters and for overall what we produced on the field.' Rassie Erasmus admitted that the team for next week's return match at Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town had already been picked but that he may now reconsider. 'We have always said that if we don't play well and we lose momentum – and we did both, we played badly and lost momentum – we might change our thinking,' he said. 'We had a chat now in the change room and that may now change, but we want to get Ethan Hooker, Canan Moodie and Morne van den Berg and a few others a start but we'll have to rethink.' Rassie Erasmus also admitted that the physicality of the Wallabies had caused problems that the Boks failed to overcome. ALSO READ | EXCLUSIVE: Latest pictures of Siya the black springbok 'I don't think they tactically outsmarted us, but they physically dominated us, and the interesting thing is that the longer the game went on they were supposed to struggle but it just shows what Wallaby coach Joe Schmidt is building there. 'The saddest thing is that they took five points, and we didn't fight back to take a bonus point. I can butter this up and make excuses, but we were really terrible on the day.' Erasmus rued missed chances and said he would have to review the messaging the players were being given. READ | Springboks lose World Rugby No 1 ranking after horror Ellis Park performance 'Grant Williams had so many breaks where he almost got away, and Manie had so many breaks where he almost got away the same with Edwill and that changes games,' said Erasmus. 'When you're 22-0 up and there's lots of space and the player thinks 'let's take a chance', and that's coaching; that's us. Telling the guys let's build an innings, 22-0 is not winning the game. 'It was a bad loss in a bad way – not against a bad team – and we didn't have the fight until the end; there was a stage where I felt our heads were dropping and our shoulders were slumping and that bothered. 'But we had a quick chat, and everyone is very disappointed and how you see the game and how our supporters will feel but tactically we totally overplayed every time we thought something was on.' The second match against Australia takes place at Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday, 23 ugust. Kick-off is at 17:10. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
18 hours ago
- The Citizen
Conrad pleased with progress shown by Proteas, despite series defeat
South Africa lost the T20 series 2-1 after a nail-biting final match against Australia in Cairns. He admitted they were not pleased with the result, but head coach Shukri Conrad said he was satisfied with the fight shown by the Proteas during the three-match T20 International series against Australia which concluded in Cairns on Saturday. In the first game of the series they lost by 17 runs, and while they won the second match by 53 runs, South Africa were edged in a two-wicket defeat in a thrilling final game. Looking ahead to the T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka early next year, Conrad was satisfied with their early build-up, especially with a handful of players returning on this tour after being rested on the tour to Zimbabwe last month. 'Obviously the result (losing the T20 series 2-1) is disappointing… but I'm really happy with the growth. I'm happy with the progress that's being made,' Conrad said. 'You can see the guys who have been playing and the guys who have come off a bit of a sabbatical. There's just a bit of rustiness. 'But I'm happy with how we're shaping up. We've got 14 T20 matches before the World Cup, so all is good and we'll keep building on that.' Dewald Brevis nails down his spot Conrad was particularly impressed by Dewald Brevis, who enjoyed a breakthrough series, hitting a record century in the second game and contributing a half-century in the third. It took Brevis some time to prove himself to the national selectors, but Conrad said the youngster had cemented his place in the Proteas T20 squad moving forward. 'He's only 22, and he's obviously going to grow older, but I hope he continues to play like a 22-year-old,' Conrad said. 'I think sometimes with experience, guys tend to adjust the way they play, but he's a breath of fresh air and he's nailed down that spot as his going forward. 'And I'm sure he'll spur on guys in the side to take on things a bit earlier as well. He's a special talent.' Following the completion of the T20 series, South Africa will now face Australia in a three-match ODI series starting in Cairns on Tuesday.
