Rassie Erasmus Defends Decision to Field Fringe Players in Springboks’ Tough Win Over Scotland

• Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus explained why the Scotland clash was used to blood unsettled test players
• Erasmus admitted South Africa placed winning the championship on the line to discover which fringe players could perform under pressure
• The Springboks wrap up the July leg of the Nations Championship against Wales at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has defended his decision to field unsettled test players during the Nations Championship series against Scotland, insisting the lessons gained were worth more than the risk of losing.

Why Erasmus Gambled With the Scotland tie

Speaking after the series, Erasmus acknowledged that South Africa deliberately put their winning momentum and championship ambitions on the line to identify which fringe players could cope with the demands of top-level rugby.

"Sometimes we must put our personal goals to one side of how many games you've won in a row or even putting winning this championship on the line so that you can know who can do what," Erasmus said.

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He questioned when the right moment to expose untested players to genuine pressure would ever arise if not against opposition of Ireland's calibre.

"If you don't make those calls, you would never know. When do you do it? Are you always going to do it when you play a team that's not of this calibre, because I think they are a great team? That's how you find out," he added.

Erasmus emphasised the unique value of staging those trials against a side of Scotland's quality, describing the environment the fringe players were thrust into.

"It's tense, there's pressure, there's a crowd who've bought tickets because they want to watch this game – they don't even know the players so well because they're not even settled test match players! So, for those guys to feel the crowd going quiet when it's not going so well. That's the only way we can ever learn."

Springboks rated Scotland as tougher than England

The Springboks head coach also revealed that his management team had anticipated an especially difficult contest against Ireland, rating them above England ahead of the fixture.

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"I'm not saying this to make out performance sound better – and I don't want to upset the English – but we thought they were going to be tougher than England," Erasmus said.

He cited Ireland's recent form as the basis for that assessment, pointing to their commanding victories over Argentina, England, and France, as well as their performances in the Six Nations just four months earlier.

South Africa now turn their attention to Wales, with the Springboks set to conclude the July leg of the Nations Championship at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.

Source: Briefly News