Rassie Erasmus shakes ‘dictator’ tag selecting rookie whom he has ‘probably spoken 100 words to’
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and an inset of Zachary Porthen.
Rassie Erasmus has barely spoken 100 words to Zachary Porthen, but his confidence in SA Rugby structures means that he is not afraid to hand the tighthead a Test debut against Japan.
The 21-year-old has played just five games for the Stormers in the URC, four of which have come this season, and played for Western Province in the Currie Cup.
However, it’s the glowing feedback from his time in the South African rugby system that has seemingly led to his maiden call-up to the Boks squad and subsequent first start against Japan.
“I don’t know him personally”
All this, despite Erasmus’ lack of knowledge of the tighthead, who will become the youngest player in the professional era to play prop for the Springboks in a Test match.
“I don’t know him personally, as I haven’t coached him a lot or worked with him a lot; I’ve probably spoken 100 words to him in total,” Erasmus admitted after naming his team to tackle Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
So if the Boks boss knows so little about the front rower, why is he so willing to give him a shot at the highest level despite having a more experienced hand in Vincent Koch, who has been omitted from the squad?
Erasmus explained that Porthen is a product of SA Rugby’s Elite Player Development (EPD) programme, which was started by him and former Bok head coach Jacques Nienaber back in 2013.
The programme is aimed at not only identifying talented players but also developing them for the national teams, from age 16 to U18, the Junior Springboks, and eventually the Springboks.
It is currently headed up by former Melbourne Rebels head coach Dave Wessels, in his current role as the General Manager of High Performance, but SA Rugby coaches at all levels lend their expertise, particularly during the camps.
Glowing feedback from coaches like Wessels, Junior Boks boss Kevin Foote, and Springboks scrum guru Daan Human has given Erasmus the confidence that the prop is ready to make the step up to the international level despite his tender age.
EPD programme
It’s not the first time that the Bok coaching team have taken a risk on a young player, with Erasmus pointing to Canan Moodie, who also came through the same system to earn his Test debut as a teenager against the Wallabies in 2021.
“Again, I don’t know him that well, but Daan has worked a lot with him; he’s come through our EPD structures, and whenever you talk to Dave or to the guys that’ve coached him before [the feedback is great],” Erasmus explained.
“What I’ve seen from him, it’s obvious that he is a nice, natural athlete.
“We played Canan Moodie when he was 18 against Australia away from home, and he scored a match-winning try against Koroibete after we lost the first Test match. Ethan is 22; there are a couple of guys who are really young.
“But from a front row player, I think Ollie Le Roux was 21 when he debuted, and Os du Randt was quite young when he did it as well, but he’s a tighthead, and that’s a bit different.”
Porthen’s selection is also somewhat out of the blue, considering the fact that he was not part of any of the training or alignment camps this year, but Erasmus says that the alignment from the Springboks set-up down to the youth teams has made it possible for him to slot in more seamlessly.
“He’s understanding it, and luckily, with Dave Wessels and our whole high-performance program, we are pretty much in sync with what Kevin [Foote] and the guys are doing at the other different levels. So luckily, a lot of our coaches have worked with him, and he seems to be quite level-headed with it and obviously excited,” added.
“He will be nervous, but that’s why there’s a team around him for him to have the best chance at performing.”
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Leaning on others’ expertise
Erasmus is renowned for his incredible detail in analysing not only the opposition but his players as well, with Eddie Jones stunned by the depth of his work when he inherited his Springboks laptop in 2007.
So it does come as somewhat of a surprise that the Bok boss doesn’t know too much about his new prop. However, it shows just how much trust he has in the systems that he helped build himself and the coaches who are operating in them now.
It is reported that Erasmus is in discussion over a contract extension beyond the 2027 Rugby World Cup but those talks have stalled as he wants his assistants’ deals extended at the same time, clearly valuing their expertise with the same true for Wessels having pressed for his involvement in the SA Rugby eco-system and reportedly put his name forward as a candidate for the Munster job in 2018.
Erasmus has been described as somewhat of a dictator during his coaching career, but continues to shake that tag, and this is just another example of him doing just that. The blame will certainly rest on his shoulders in the event of failure, but it is clear to see that while he is incredibly demanding of his players, the same demands are placed on his coaching staff.
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It’s plainly obvious that the Bok boss values the opinions of those around him and is not relying purely on his own views when it comes to selections. While he has an incredible rugby intellect, there are areas of the game where others are better, and he is not shy to let the likes of Human make those calls when needed.
Future proofing
Porthen’s selection is not just for the here and now, though, as the Boks are seemingly looking to life without Trevor Nyakane, Vincent Koch and Frans Malherbe.
Koch would have been available for selection for the clash against Japan and Wales, but has been omitted from the touring squad. The Sharks tighthead played a pivotal role in both the 2019 and 2023 Rugby World Cups, but at the age of 35, he is in the latter stages of his career.
The same applies to 36-year-old Trevor Nyakane and 34-year-old Frans Malherbe. The former is still recovering from a long-term injury that has ruled him out of Bok contention this year, while the same is true for the latter. In Malherbe’s case, there is doubt around whether he will even continue his career.
Bringing Porthen into the mix gives the coaches a look to the future as he could be the player they turn to as the third-choice tighthead prop competing with the likes of Wilco Louw and Thomas du Toit.
Luckily for the former Junior Boks skipper, he is being given all the right tools to succeed as he earns his Test debut with proven world-class internationals in Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche and has the hefty weight of RG Snyman and Lood de Jager behind him.
Erasmus explained that was part of their thinking when they included him in the starting XV and added that naming him on the bench would allow for the nerves to build up even more.
“There were two ways to go about it, with Thomas du Toit not available for this game because of the Premiership’s rulings and rest periods, so Thomas is only available next week,” Erasmus explained.
“We’ve got Zach in, and you look at the guys on the bench, they scrum together in Gerhard [Steenekamp], Wilco [Louw] and Grobbies [Johan Grobbelaar] – they are guys who are used to one another. Then it gives Zach a chance next to really experienced players in Malcolm and Ox.
“Sometimes with getting a young guy in, they are fearless and just enjoy the moment, and if you put them on the bench, it can build up nerves.
“We’ll see on Saturday if it’s the right call or the wrong call. It’s definitely a Japanese team that scrummed well against Australia and got 100% of their ball and only gave one or two penalties away when it was Australia’s feed.
“It definitely won’t be an easy game for him. He’s one of the few guys that we’ve had in the group this year that hasn’t had time to adapt to all of our plays, the way we train, how we maul, defend and all those kinds of things.
“So, a hell of a lot of information, and I guess you know you don’t want to find that out in the last 20 minutes of the game when you have to win.
“We thought that starting him with that solid lock pairing behind him, and then obviously having that great security on the bench with guys that scrummed together in the past.”
