Springboks legends question Rassie Erasmus’ back-row selection after Bomb Squad’s ‘impact’ reduces

Schalk Burger and Jean de Villiers are concerned by the Springboks’ options at number eight heading into the Rugby Championship, which starts next weekend.

Rassie Erasmus named his South Africa squad last week ahead of the two Tests against the Wallabies, but their only out-and-out option at the base of the scrum, Evan Roos, was dropped.

Kwagga Smith was entrusted in that position for the Ireland series but he produced a couple of mixed displays during the 1-1 draw.

The 31-year-old looks set to play there when the Rugby Championship begins in Brisbane on August 10, a decision Burger disagrees with.

World Cup impact

With the former sevens star making such an impact in the ‘Bomb Squad’ in 2023, particularly during the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup, the Springboks legend feels that is his best role.

“I think the game’s changed a bit. When we were playing, for the bulk of it your starters play deep. We played 65/70 minutes – probably predominately 80 minutes for the two of us – and now it’s a 23-man game,” Burger said on the Boks Office podcast alongside De Villiers.

“You need that versatility on the bench. If you think of a guy like Kwagga, I love Kwagga Smith, but Kwagga’s most value is coming off the bench

“His impact is vast and he’s just done it so many times that he can fit into whatever is required, whether it’s absolute work rate, tackling. Is it adapting to the game or changing the game by actually carrying or getting involved?

“For me, his impact is way bigger coming off the bench. In our days we had a few super subs, guys who changed the look of the game, the feel of it and the trend of it, but predominately it was starters. Now it’s changed.”

Burger also queried whether there might eventually be a change in the make-up of Erasmus’ bench from a 6-2 split to the more traditional 5-3 after the 25-24 defeat to Ireland.

“You look at the Irish game, I think Salmaan Moerat got a couple of minutes in that one, they didn’t use him at all, they didn’t empty the bench.

“The whole premise of the 6-2 bench is that you’ve got the best two packs of forwards, so you’ve got to use them early.

“Obviously, with having some locks injured, I think that puts a lot of pressure within our squad, but it also gives opportunity for development, like Ben-Jason Dixon and Ruan Venter.

“There’s always going to be this transition between World Cups and I think slowly but surely we’ll see that.

“I can’t see much changing in the backline.

“Obviously, the first question is: who’s your first pick at 10? At the moment, it’s still Handre [Pollard] but you see a guy like Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu], who wants to play fly-half. He’s filling the utility role, but once a guy like Damian Willemse comes back, Canan Moodie, will we then go to a 5-3 split?”

Roos’ replacement

Bulls’ versatile forward Elrigh Louw has effectively taken Roos’ place in the squad. He can operate in all three back-row positions and, in an emergency, at lock, but he played the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign on the flank.

The 24-year-old has enjoyed a fine year in Pretoria, especially towards the end of the campaign, but the talented forward has little Test experience.

His name initially slipped the mind of Burger and De Villiers and, although they rate his talents, the latter believes that Erasmus missed a trick by not including Roos.

“A guy we haven’t mentioned is Elrigh Louw. Also kind of covering the seven/four positions,” De Villiers said.

“I am surprised as Kwagga is the only out-and-out eight and, although Elrigh covers that as well, that would be the only question I have.”