Why Schalk Burger believes Victor Matfield is wrong about controversial Springboks ploy as Rassie Erasmus has ‘something up his sleeve’
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and an inset of legendary flanker Schalk Burger.
Schalk Burger thinks that his former teammate Victor Matfield is wrong about Rassie Erasmus’ ploy to field a Springboks B-team in November.
2026 is a jam-packed year of international rugby for South Africa, with three Tests in July against England, Scotland and Wales, respectively, with their opening game of the year being against the Barbarians.
The Rugby Championship has been shelved this year as Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry takes centre stage with the All Blacks arriving for three Tests against the Springboks, with a fourth taking place in Baltimore.
Erasmus’ charges will also have a one-off Test against the Wallabies, which will occur after a clash versus Los Pumas earlier in August.
Their final matches of the year will be in the northern hemisphere, which will conclude the inaugural Nations Championship with fixtures against Italy, France and Ireland before the finals weekend.
Matfield sparks rumours
This hectic schedule led legendary Springboks lock Matfield to suggest that Erasmus could use the November Tests as a rest for many of the frontline players to better prepare the team for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
“I don’t know how important it’s going to be [the Nations Championship] for the coaches. I’ve heard there might be a South African B-side going over at the end of the year. I don’t know if it’s true, I’ve just heard rumours,” Matfield said on the Rivals podcast.
“Someone just told me. It’s something to do with the league points and where you finish. I just heard it, but let’s see what happens.”
Ex-Ireland star Andrew Trimble, who was also on the show, quipped: “Rassie’s done the sums, he’s got something up his sleeve again, he’s always scheming, isn’t he?”
Fellow former Springboks Hanyani Shimange, Burger and Jean de Villiers responded to Matfield’s remarks on the Boks Unpacked podcast.
“I think if it wasn’t a World Cup year [in 2027], it would be different,” show host Shimange said.
Burger disagrees
But Burger believes that there is a drive to win trophies from the players and coaches, and he can’t see that if they are in a position to do so, they would risk not sending the best of the best to compete, particularly in the absence of the Rugby Championship.
“I don’t think we will do that,” he said.
“If we are successful now in June, then the All Blacks are coming here; it’s the only real trophy that we can go win is this Nations Championship.
“We have that Test series against the All Blacks. This group of players would surely want to do that [win the Nations Championship].”
He pointed to the fact that many players will be fresher than their counterparts, having played their club rugby in the less demanding Japan Rugby League One competition.
“Like the main benefit we’ve got, and it’s by default, is that so many players are based in Japan,” he continued. “They have got the perfect ticket for it.”
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Meanwhile, De Villiers argued that there is little benefit for a team to perform strongly in the build-up to the finals weekend as England will still have preference to their preferred facilities and accommodations.
“The way it has been worked out because it’ll be northern hemisphere versus southern hemisphere teams is that if South Africa plays England in that last weekend, then England can still have preference in terms of where they stay at their own facilities, train at their own facilities, have all the benefit of that,” he said after admitting that he ‘could be wrong’.
“So, don’t actually get much of a benefit as being the number one-ranked team. And if that is the case, if it is so lopsided in how it has been put together, then why send your best team? Why not send your second-best team?”
