Rassie Erasmus: Springboks saw the ‘old Eben Etzebeth’ but Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu ‘inaccurate’
Eben Etzebeth and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in action for the Springboks.
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has given his verdict on the returning players as Eben Etzebeth was praised following his first match since April.
The second-row played the entire 80 minutes despite only featuring once since last year’s Autumn Nations Series.
A combination of suspension and injury has contributed to Etzebeth’s lack of game time, but he managed to go the distance in South Africa’s narrow 17-10 victory over Argentina.
Springboks’ other returning players
The 34-year-old was not the only player to return from a lengthy absence with Lood de Jager, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Morne van den Berg getting an opportunity after missing the Nations Championship.
“I thought Lood [de Jager] was really physical in the first 25 or 30 minutes when he was relatively fresh and then obviously the pace of the game got to him because he hasn’t played in almost a year,” Erasmus told reporters.
“With Eben going 80, I thought you saw the old Eben again. I thought he was physical, he carried well, defended well.”
Captain Siya Kolisi was another to miss the July Tests but he only lasted 24 minutes after going off with a hamstring issue.
There was better news for Ethan Hooker, who is another to have limited minutes recently, as the wing came through Saturday’s match unscathed.
“Siya was really dynamic with his carries and his cleanouts,” Erasmus said.
“With Krappies [Morne van den Berg], it was very windy so it was difficult to control the box-kicks. Sacha was playing back for the first time in a very long time and he obviously wasn’t very accurate, and you could see he got tired.
“I thought Canan [Moodie] came through well, I thought Ethan [Hooker] came through well after the head injuries and being out for a while.”
Comment: All Blacks need not ‘worry’ after Springboks ‘escaped to victory’ against Argentina
Springboks struggle against Argentina
Erasmus ultimately believed that selection contributed to their underwhelming performance on Saturday as the world champions only just managed to get past a rotated Los Pumas outfit.
The Springboks had to balance out giving his injury-returnees an opportunity while also trying to get the win with the All Blacks series looming in two weeks’ time.
Whatever team the head coach puts out in the first Test in Johannesburg will be strong but he now has a few more options to choose from.
“There were a lot of guys that were out on their feet because they haven’t played rugby in a long time, there were 10 guys coming back from injury,” he said.
“I also know that Argentina had a lot of youngsters in the team but they brought energy to Argentina.
“We’re not happy that we didn’t play well but we’re very happy that we grinded out the win.”
