Erasmus gives explanation for changing entire Springbok front row last minute

The Springboks’ week of constant lineup changes culminated in a complete overhaul of the front row just an hour before kick-off in Cape Town.

It was only when the team sheets were finalised at DHL Stadium that media attending the match found the final twist of the week from South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus.

The starting team suddenly featured the three front rowers initially named on the bench: Gerhard Steenekamp, Deon Fourie, and Thomas du Toit. Meanwhile, the bench included Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw, who were originally the starting trio.

Following the match, which ended with the Springboks clinging to a 33-26 lead, the All Blacks claimed the changes had no bearing on the game from their perspective.

Erasmus said they were simply a response to the weather conditions.

“We thought it was going to be wet, and that’s why we picked that front row,” the coach explained. “The whole week, the prediction was it was going to be wet, and we thought then we’ll need our heavier front row for the first half of the game. We were always going to use two front rows.

“But then, closer to the game, the weather report said it’s going to be dry, and then we felt our front row that’s a little bit lighter would be better on the dry field.”

Marx and Nche came on for Fourie and Steenekamp after 35 minutes, while Louw replaced Du Toit at the 56-minute mark. Erasmus went on to explain the timing of the substitutions.

“Deon Fourie, he’s 39 years old, he’s played 65 minutes against the All Blacks in six weeks, so he was going to get tired. And you could see he missed the tackle when they scored a try. He did wonderfully; I thought he brought so much to the team.

“Also, we’ve got Ox (Nche), who, prior to the previous game, had played eight minutes. Then last week he played 45 minutes. Now, this game we wanted him, because he didn’t start, to get to 55 minutes.

“But that’s not decided before, because if the guys stay productive on the field, and they keep doing their job, then we pull it back and we do it at a moment where they’re not productive and helping anymore.”

Other changes to the South Africa team sheet during the week included Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu coming into the No.10 jersey when Handre Pollard went down injured, Siya Kolisi being declared fit and available at the expense of Paul de Villiers, and Cheslin Kolbe replacing Kurt-Lee Arendse when given the all-clear from the Springboks medical staff.

Erasmus acknowledged there was some confusion surrounding Kolbe’s availability.

“He wasn’t a late change. On Monday, obviously we announced the team, and I said Cheslin is looking really good, and our policy has always been that if you can train fully on a Monday (then you can play), but we weren’t sure about that. Maybe I should have slashed him in the team announcement, and that would’ve gone down better.

“But Kurt-Lee knew, because our training session was only in the afternoon, and Cheslin did the whole training. So, it wasn’t a late change, but it was later when we announced that.”

One change Springboks fans can expect in Soweto next week is at fullback, with Damian Willemse expected to miss at least game three of the Test series with a hamstring injury that ended his night in Cape Town at halftime.