Coach Rassie Erasmus Gets Second Springboks Stint Underway With Convincing Wales Win
- Rassie Erasmus is back where he belongs, many would say, as coach of the World Cup-winning Springboks
- The Boks steam-rolled their way to an elusive victory in Twickenham on Erasmus' return after winning the 2019 World Cup
- Erasmus gave four players their debuts as the side seized the initiative in the second half to conclude a 41-13 win
Source: Getty Images
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus returned on Saturday to steer the three-time Rugby World Cup champions' ship with a win in Twickenham, London.
The Boks bossed their way to a 41-13 win over Wales in their maiden match of the year.
Erasmus makes a strong statement
Erasmus, who returned as coach after Jacques Nienaber's departure, had four players make their debuts.
They were flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, wing Edwill van der Merwe, flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse, and lock Ben-Jason Dixon.
The visitors got the match — their first since winning the 2023 World Cup — off to a flyer, taking the game to Wales as early as the first minute.
Hendrikse missed a penalty kick in the early stages, but the champions saved their blushes with a try.
It came when Makazole Mapimpi offloaded the ball to Jesse Kriel, who rounded off the Welsh backline to open the scoring.
Fast start, better second half
Hendrikse made sure to slot home the resulting try conversion kick to get the green and gold's noses in front with a 7-0 lead.
Wales’ Rio Dyer was sin-binned, and three minutes after the yellow, the Boks turned up the pressure cooker, winning a try.
The Welsh got a sniff when captain Dewi Lake scored a try in the 29th minute after the Springboks’ defence fell apart, courtesy of an Aphelele Fasi yellow card.
Erasmus' halftime talk would make the difference, with only a point separating the sides (14-13 to the Boks) at the break.
The second half saw the Boks seize the initiative with three unanswered tries.
Van der Merwe crossed over the whitewash to get his international career off to a sensational start and, in the process, earned the Man of the Match award.
Erasmus dips into deep talent pool
In recent news, Briefly News reported that Erasmus added four new faces to the Boks squad and welcomed three players back for the match against Wales.
According to SARugby, Erasmus has been impressed with Van der Merwe, Hendrikse, and Stormers pair Dixon and Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
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Source: Briefly News
