Worries of Veterans Falling off The Pace Erasmus Set out next four-year cycle as Springboks boss
Rassie Erasmus has revealed that the next Rugby World Cup is often in the back of the mind as the Springboks look to get the balance right between results and building for 2027.It was an incredibly experienced team with the majority of the individuals who started the final the wrong side of 30.
South Africa won the 2023 Rugby World Cup with predominantly the same group of players that lifted the Webb Ellis Cup four years earlier.
Erasmus knows that they have a significant rebuild on their hands ahead of the World Cup in Australia, but the head coach is wary of doing it too quickly.
The balance
The 51-year-old very much wants to keep their spot at the top of the sport while he brings the younger players through.
The side to face the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship this weekend features 10 starters from the 2023 showpiece event, while RG Snyman and Ox Nche, who also line up in the XV, were in the 23
However, the Springboks have included Elrigh Louw and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who are both 25, which suggests that Erasmus is mindful of not sticking with the tried and tested.
“We are definitely trying to make the squad understand and be as honest as we can that this is a group effort going to the 2027 Rugby World Cup,” he told reporters.
“It is about what Damian (de Allende), Lukhanyo (Am), Jesse (Kriel) and Canan (Moodie) has to do to help the younger guys like Ethan Hooker who we had in camp to work together as a group.
We will probably prolong some guys’ careers and see how deep they can go until the next World Cup and where they will fall off the pace and maybe spare their bodies a lot.
“That’s what we are expecting from the young guys, to bring that energy and swap in and out and then against a major country like Australia, select four or five of them and then maybe next we go a little bit bolder. But again, it’s all about momentum.”
The Springboks got it right at the World Cup but the four years between the 2019 and 2023 global tournaments were mixed.
Erasmus understands the scrutiny the Boks will come under if there are poor results and performances, and hopes that they can get it right over the four next years.
“It’s also about how our supporters are feeling and how you guys in the media are feeling. As you know when it’s sometimes a bad loss, it stops momentum and growth and so on,” he said.
“So hopefully we can keep momentum and these guys can produce and show what they have.”
Sacha’s big chance
One youngster who is expected to play a big role over the next few years is Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who starts for the Boks against the Wallabies this weekend.
The 22-year-old has impressed off the bench in 2024 and will now get an opportunity in the fly-half jersey in Brisbane on Saturday.
It is a bold call but one that Erasmus is willing to make, given that the playmaker could become a star of South African rugby and be crucial to their World Cup hopes in 2027.
We do have a lot of options, but it’s because we as the selecting committee and the coaches made some brave choices and sometimes we lose matches to try and see how guys can go from one level to another level,” the head coach added.
“That’s why we had the SA ‘A’ games, that’s also games that Sacha and other guys played and you get to learn the characters to understand the characters and that’s most important – the succession planning whilst trying to win.”
