More Bok debuts planned for Georgia
Coach Rassie Erasmus is likely to give two more players their Springboks debuts against Georgia at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday.
Following a more satisfactory outing against Italy in the second Test in Port Elizabeth, where the Boks obliterated the Azzurri 45-0, Erasmus is likely to continue with his squad rotation as part of his broader plan to build depth for the Rugby Championship and a demanding end-of-year tour
Edinburgh loosehead prop Boan Venter and Scarlets hooker Marnus van der Merwe are in line to get their first Bok caps against the Georgians this weekend. Van der Merwe has appeared in the green and gold this season, when he came off the bench against the Barbarians in Cape Town. But that match didn’t have Test match status.
Erasmus says it’ll be good for them to get their Springbok debuts on Saturday.
I think we would love to give a few guys their first Test. Boan and Marnus should be in the picture,” said the Bok mentor, who once again has the rugby world talking following some innovative moves in the second Test against Italy.
“We’ve taken the entire group to Mbombela and will possibly only keep some squad members here until Wednesday. After the Test against Georgia, the entire squad will get a week off. We’ll probably then call in around 35 players before we play against Australia.”
The Springboks begin their Rugby Championship campaign on 16 August against the Wallabies in Johannesburg, followed by the second Test in Cape Town a week later.
Georgia have been in South Africa and played a warmup match against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Friday night, which they lost 24-20. But Erasmus didn’t read too much into that result, noting that the Georgians had rested a handful of their first-choice players.
