Rassie Erasmus looks at player ages, prep for 2027 Rugby World Cup
When also asked whether some senior players would still be considered for the 2027 global showpiece in Australia, he said selection would be fair – If older players are still performing, they will be there.
Erasmus was speaking to media amid their two-week training camp in Johannesburg ahead of their Rugby Championship title defence. This begins with games against Australia in Johannesburg and Cape Town on August 16 and 23, respectively.
Gap in player experience
Thirty-seven Test-capped players are included in the squad for those games, with eight capable Springboks acting as backup.
Three Junior Springbok stars who helped their team win the World Rugby U20 Championship joined the camp, as Erasmus seeks depth and eyes all 'possibilities of players' in the coming months and years.
When asked about preparation for 2027, Erasmus said: 'I can't really say there are any problems – I am not saying with our game, there are lots of things we must fix.'
He said during Covid-19, players lost out on rugby from school level all the way to domestic and international level. Erasmus saw the result of that in the quality of players currently aged 20 to 26. But he is adapting to this.
'You lose two years of guys developing. But overall, apart from that I'll be looking for excuses because I think we are pretty much on track.
'But we are trying to focus on the now without forgetting the future. We know 2027 is going to be big but if we don't do well leading up to it, we might lose momentum.'
Older Springboks will be selected if they perform
The Springboks have a number of older players who may retire in the coming years. Siya Kolisi (34), Cobus Reinach (35), Bongi Mbonambi (34), Damian de Allende (33), Eben Etzebeth (33), Faf de Klerk (33), Franco Mostert (34), Makazole Mapimpi (35), Vincent Koch (35) and Willie le Roux (35), are among them.
Erasmus said age is not as important as ability. 'Probably all of us will be involved until 2027 if I don't get fired before then,' he smiled.
However, he said: 'Trying to calculate which guys will be there in 2027, that's why we had a camp with 45 guys here. Because we are not 100% sure.
'Some guys we feel iffy, some guys we think will definitely make it. Some guys are just freaks of athletes, like Johnny Sexton who can play until they are 38. But you don't get a lot of those.'
That was why he is trying to build a large player base.
'They plan their rugby lives around their age and how well they can play. So if they are still in the top one to three in their positions until 2026, we'll probably play those guys. But making plans like we did, having bigger groups, making sure the younger guys coming through are quite comfortable… I think we are okay.'
In recent history, Schalk Brits played in the 2019 Rugby World Cup at the age of 38, and Duane Vermeulen was 37 at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Likewise, Deon Fourie was the oldest player to make his Springbok debut, at 36. He was 37 when he played in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
This article first appeared in The Citizen.
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