Springboks legend Victor Matfield believes Rassie Erasmus has made “a few interesting decisions” ahead of the Rugby Championship and reckons that it is a sign of things to come.
Springboks legend Victor Matfield believes Rassie Erasmus has made “a few interesting decisions” ahead of the Rugby Championship and reckons that it is a sign of things to come.
South Africa’s head coach last week named his squad for the upcoming southern hemisphere tournament, with competition for places once again making selection difficult.
Among those to be omitted from the 37-man group were Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am, who famously combined for the Boks’ first try in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final.
World Cup winners on standby
Although they are on a standby list, the suggestion is that Erasmus is looking to bring through some younger players ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
Matfield was also fascinated by the call to leave out Bath’s Thomas du Toit, owing to an agreement with the English Premiership over his mandatory rest period.
The fact that the information was publicly disclosed suggests Du Toit remains in the mix but also shows that the Springboks boss is comfortable with the depth they have at prop.
“There were a few interesting decisions. The biggest one is probably Thomas du Toit. He was probably the best tighthead prop in the northern hemisphere during the club season, but he hasn’t given him an opportunity at tighthead, just at loosehead, so that’s really interesting,” he said on the Rivals podcast.
“And then the two guys who were there for the first World Cup – Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am – are not there anymore. We knew there was going to be a changing of the guard.
At loose forward as well, there are some other guys getting an opportunity.
“I think the squad looks good. We’ve got a lot of depth in that squad, but I still think there are one or two guys that will be changed throughout the year.”
Faf de Klerk’s situation
Matfield was less surprised by the absence of Faf de Klerk, who has joined Mapimpi and Am on the standby list
Grant Williams, Morne van den Berg and Cobus Reinach are the scrum-halves that have been selected for the Rugby Championship.
It was reported last year that De Klerk is one of three players who will not be part of Erasmus’ plans as they look towards the 2027 World Cup and, despite impressing off the bench against Italy and Georgia in July, he has been dropped for the games against the Wallabies.
He’s been on the edge of the squad for the last three or four years. He didn’t play a lot of rugby last year, so they probably had to decide between him and Cobus Reinach to be that experienced scrum-half,” Matfield added.
Faf played brilliantly when he came on, he had a big impact but, with Cobus being there last year, coming back to South Africa to play in South Africa [for the Stormers], he probably just got the nod.
