Rassie Erasmus jokes Stormers star had be selected for the Springboks otherwise his ‘girlfriend would be really upset’
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and Stormers hooker Andre-Hugo Venter.
There will be a family connection for Rassie Erasmus this weekend, having named his Springboks side to take on the Barbarians.
South Africa’s head coach has generally opted to pick an experienced outfit with the likes of Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi and Ox Nche all named in the XV.
The front five is arguably where they are most callow, despite the presence of Nche and Franco Mostert, with the uncapped Riley Norton and Carlu Sadie both included.
Hooker is perhaps the most intriguing selection up front; however, with the selection of Andre-Hugo Venter, who is in a relationship with Erasmus’ daughter, Nikki.
‘Andre-Hugo’s girlfriend will be really upset’
“The Barbarians game is always organised for a reason, it’s not just a fixture. It’s obviously for guys that haven’t played for a while,” he told reporters.
“Two weeks after that, we play England, so you want to get guys who haven’t played together for six months, you try and get them together and then there are some guys where you think it’s time to give one or two other guys [an opportunity].
“Malcolm [Marx] is fine. Malcolm could play this weekend. But when Grobbies [Johan Grobbelaar] comes back, Jan-Hendrik [Wessels] can play hooker, Marco [van Staden] can play hooker, so three hookers actually come back from the Bulls into the set-up, and then you have Malcolm, which makes four.
“Marnus [van der Merwe] is a long-term injury, so if we don’t give Andre-Hugo and JJ Kotze a chance, first of all, JJ’s dad will be very upset and then Andre-Hugo’s girlfriend will be really upset with me.
“I think it’s time to give those guys a run.”
At the same time as naming the Boks side to face the Baabaas, an SA ‘A’ team was released, who will take on Zimbabwe this weekend.
The Rugby World Cup winner in a youthful backline
Particularly behind the scrum, it features predominantly young players who could well be the future of the Test team, but there was one notable inclusion in Lukanyo Am.
A key cog in the 2019 Rugby World Cup-winning squad, Am has dropped down the pecking order and is looking to force his way back into the reckoning.
“Lukhanyo… we always want to play him at 12. Between Mzwandile [Stick], Tony [Brown] and Felix [Jones], they see something there in him,” he said.
“Lukhanyo is very comfortable playing there but then he got a knee op last year, so he was out for quite a while. He went to Japan, got properly rehabbed.
“I don’t think he’s back to where he was when he was at his peak, but this can certainly be the first step.”
READ MORE: Springboks team: Faf de Klerk returns as Rassie Erasmus includes five uncapped men v Barbarians
