Rassie Erasmus reveals he was blocked by SA Rugby over Benhard Janse van Rensburg selection: ‘We wanted to cap him’
Rassie Erasmus (right) admits he wanted to select Benhard Janse van Rensburg (left)
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has revealed he would have liked to cap Benhard Janse van Rensburg, but was blocked by South Africa Rugby Union (SARU) bosses.
The Bristol Bears centre, who was born in South Africa, was named in England’s extended 36-man squad for the Nations Championship, which came as a result of an RFU appeal to World Rugby earlier this year.
However, he does not fully qualify to play for England until July 8, meaning he cannot make his debut against the Springboks at Ellis Park this weekend. He has, however, represented England XV in their defeat to France XV.
Rassie Erasmus confirms Benhard Janse van Rensburg interest
While Janse van Rensburg is now donning the red rose of England, and will likely make his maiden Test appearance when Steve Borthwick’s side face Fiji at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, he could easily have been in the Green and Gold of the Springboks this weekend, with Erasmus confirming they had held conversations with the centre.
“If I tell the honest truth with him (Janse van Rensburg), and I hope I don’t drop anybody in it by saying this, we had conversations with him and he was very keen to come,” said the head coach.
Why Felix Jones REALLY left England and what impact the Springboks had on his decision – report
“But then my CEO asked me a way back, ‘are you interested in Benhard Janse van Rensburg?’ and I said ‘yes, obviously we are, but we just want to see in our pecking order where he will get time’.
“And then he asked, ‘are you going to try and cap him this year?’ and I said, ‘No, I don’t think so’.
“Then, we wanted to (play him) in June and give him a chance, because we were thin at centre and we had the Barbarians game and South Africa A game. Then, when I phoned the CEO, he said ‘No, you can’t, you promised me. I already committed to England and to World Rugby that we won’t go that route’.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
“We were looking at him, and we wanted to cap him, but because of a promise I made to the CEO and one he made to World Rugby, we didn’t pursue it.”
The decision by SARU to allow England to take Janse van Rensburg might have come as somewhat of a disappointment to the Boks head coach, who has only named three out-and-out centres in his extended 46-man squad for the Nations Championship, but the head coach revealed he was ‘happy’ to see the Bristol man get a Test call-up.
“It is a difficult thing,” he said. “I don’t think people believe that when Jacques Nienaber goes to Leinster and does well, we are happy for him; he is one of our friends.
“When Duhan van der Merwe or Pierre Schoeman or whoever plays in a different country and does well, it’s a South African that does well.
Victor Matfield ‘nervous’ as he raises questions for ‘untested’ Springboks ahead of England showdown
“He wears the other jersey when he plays against us, and we want to beat them and we want to smash them and we want to tackle them back; it’s competitive. But when a South African person does well, we’re happy.”
“We’re glad he’s not playing this match against us,” he continued. “He’s from the Free State, he played for Griquas, we know him well. He’s a tough man, and that’s why we considered him. But the fair thing is to give him a chance where he is.”
The selection of Janse van Rensburg has prompted vocal criticism from both pundits and former players, notably Test centurions Danny Care and Ben Youngs.
Ollie Lawrence has been axed entirely from the 36-man touring squad for the Nations Championship, while Max Ojomoh also missed out on a recent alignment camp as a result of the Bristol back’s inclusion, but has since returned to the fold for the July Tests.
However, while the debate might still be ongoing, Erasmus does not think bringing in overseas players is an issue.
“We’ve had Beast (Tendai) Mtawarira and the two Tshituka brothers (Vincent and Emmanuel),” he said. “We follow the protocols, but I can’t tell you what the English guys are thinking.
“In my opinion, it’s a good thing if you can make the team better, and he deserves it.”
