Rassie Erasmus in ‘not perfect’ admission for Argentina clash as Springboks boss reveals plan for returning Eben Etzebeth
Springboks lock Eben Etzebeth and head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus is not demanding his side blow away Argentina in this weekend’s clash after rotating his side.
A number of key players will make their return from injury with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager among those to start on Saturday.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu will play his first game since May while Etzebeth and De Jager have only featured once since the 2025 Autumn Nations Series.
While there are plenty of experienced internationals in the 23, it is nowhere near what many would consider their first choice outfit.
Not just about the winning
Erasmus is still desperate to emerge victorious but, with the All Blacks series on the horizon,the Boks boss knows there is more to Saturday’s game than just winning.
“If you take the winning out and you take out guys getting game time, obviously it’s the tactics and the plan we’re going into the game with,” he told reporters.
“Obviously, we want to be on the winning side of the scoreboard, but I don’t think the margin of winning – if we do – is the important thing.
“Because a lot of these guys are coming back from injury and then some are not really settled in the team, like Hanekom and Elrigh and those kind of guys, I guess the thing that will happen on Saturday, it won’t be perfect.
“If we get better and we’re growing our game and building our game plan, and we’re getting more in sync, hopefully the score will go our way.
“Apart from the returning players from injury, getting some match fitness into some guys and then trying to win, I would say the only other thing that I can probably wish for is that we really grow our game and get a little bit better in each department.”
With Etzebeth and De Jager only just returning from injury, Erasmus has decided to load his bench with six forwards.
That includes Ben-Jason Dixon and Cobus Wiese, who are set to come on in the second period when the starters eventually tire.
Although Dixon is primarily a loose forward, he has experience playing in the front five.
Plans for star Springboks
“They will go on at number four and number five, so Ben-Jason will go on for Eben and Cobus will go on for Lood,” Erasmus said.
“Eben is coming back from concussion, it’s a long time he hasn’t played and he wouldn’t last 80 minutes, so when he gets tired, Ben-Jason will go to four.
“It’s the same with Lood, he hasn’t played for a long time and we will see how long they will last in the game.
“Cobus is also a lineout caller. For us with how we operate, the four doesn’t call lineouts. Eben doesn’t call lineouts and Ben-Jason doesn’t call lineouts, and Cobus does, so it will be straight swaps.”
