There have been numerous examples where Springbok players were dropped in surprising fashion. Here we look at three standout cases.

There have been numerous examples where Springbok players were dropped in surprising fashion. Here we look at three standout cases.

Former Springbok captain Gary Teichmann

Although it’s an impossible task to narrow down the most shocking cases of Springbok players being unceremoniously dropped, there is no doubt the case of Gary Teichmann will forever live in infamy.

The affable eighthman had captained the Springboks throughout 1997 and 1998, as well as at the start of 1999 before a bombshell decision was made by then coach Nick Mallet.

When Teichmann was sacked as leader of the Springboks in July 1999, it marked the beginning of the end of his career in South African rugby and was undoubtedly one of most controversial decisions ever made by a Springbok coach.

Speaking on the topic years later, Teichmann admitted that his relationship with Mallett had begun to “go backwards” in the lead-up to the decision to omit him from the World Cup squad and bring an end to his Springbok captaincy in favour of Bobby Skinstad.

In a recent book published by Mallett, he ultimately admitted it was the biggest blunder of his Springbok coaching career.

“It was really hard for me as I realised I had made a mistake as soon as the team got together for our pre-World Cup training camp in Plettenberg Bay,” he reflected.

“There was just a completely different feel to the vibe and there wasn’t the togetherness that there had been before. It felt like the players were separate from the coaching staff and there was no longer the feeling of ‘we are all in this together’ that there had been before. It was clear that the majority of the players felt that I had made a mistake in dropping Gary and some even resented it.”

Francois Hougaard & Raymond Rhule

In Allister Coetzee’s last year in charge of the Springboks in 2017, there were numerous examples of players from his tenure who subsequently fell by the wayside.

But the cases of Francois Hougaard and Raymond Rhule were particularly strange.

During a period of real problems both off and on the pitch for the Springboks, Rhule became a scapegoat of sorts, particularly after forming part of the team that suffered a brutal 57-0 loss to the All Blacks on 16 September 2017.

However, at the start of the next Test week back in South Africa, Coetzee vehemently came to the defence of the under-fire wing and insisted that he wouldn’t be ‘discarded’ after just one poor game. Yet, not even 48 hours later, Rhule was axed from the squad, and ultimately he would never make a return to the Test stage.

That same week, Coetzee also rather publicly suggested squad member Francois Hougaard was simply not up to standard as a Test scrumhalf.

“In terms of my lowest low, getting dropped from the Springboks in 2017 and finding out on Twitter that the coach said that I didn’t have the technical abilities to play Test rugby and by definition I wasn’t good enough, was tough to take,” Hougaard reflected in an interview a couple of years later when discussing that incident.

“He should rather have spoken to me in person and given me a reason instead of embarrassing me on media platforms. If you drop me and tell me the reason that’s perfectly fine and I accept that. I have no problem when a coach doesn’t pick me, but he should tell me why he didn’t face to face. That didn’t happen.”

Rassie Erasmus

In terms of other rather confusing cases, there was another bizarre example back when Rassie Erasmus found his playing days brought to a preamture end at the Springboks.

After starting two Tests at flank in June 2001, Erasmus was a shock exclusion from the squad for the home leg of the Tri-Nations, with coach Harry Viljoen strangely suggesting he was unfit and out of form.

The rationale around Erasmus’ physical condition certainly proved to be contradictory considering his franchise – the Cats at that time – insisted he had returned to a prime ‘fighting weight’ after the Super 12 and a training camp at Plettenberg Bay.

Viljoen had not said a word to Erasmus about his omission before suddenly making the bombshell decision, stating at the time: “We want Rassie to get physically stronger and at this stage he is also not explosive enough.”

As it turned out, Erasmus would not feature for the Springboks again, ending his career on 36 Test caps.