Rassie Erasmus has admitted the Springboks front-row switch against France was made with “a little bit of an eye on the World Cup”, and conceded “it didn’t work because we lost”.
The Springboks named Ox Nché, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw as their starting front row on Monday. About an hour before kick-off in Paris on Friday, the bench trio of Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp and Thomas du Toit started instead.
France won 21-19 at the Stade de France. Erasmus said afterwards that the decision to flip the front row was made on the Thursday.
Was the switch smart planning for 2027, or a gamble the Boks did not need in Paris? Tell us in the comments.
READ MORE: Springboks team v France: Louw starts, Etzebeth made to wait
‘We weren’t quite sure’
Erasmus was asked about the late change at the post-match press conference.
“We were mulling around what should we do, and we announced the team on Monday,” he said. Then, on the Thursday, the staff decided to turn it the other way around.
“It was late in the week that we made that call, and up until the captain’s practice yesterday we weren’t quite sure,” he added later in the same answer.
He said it was a hard call even to bring the named front row on from the bench.
“I really thought Jan-Hendrik and Gerhard and Thomas really played well,” he said. “It was actually tough to put Malcolm and the guys on, because these guys were really doing it.”
‘Growing into the hooker role’
The player Erasmus wanted to see was Wessels, who started at hooker and scored the Springboks’ first-half try.
“I think Jan-Hendrik is really growing into the hooker role. He’s doing really well,” Erasmus said.
“It was good to see him start under pressure, against a good scrum, against a good lineout … he didn’t miss a lineout ball. So yeah, it was a little bit of an eye on the World Cup, looking how that combination went.”
The next Rugby World Cup is in Australia in 2027. Marx came off the bench and scored a late try, but Manie Libbok’s conversion missed and France held on.
READ MORE: Rassie Erasmus: ‘Just human’ for ref to stop penalising France
‘It didn’t work’
Erasmus has done this before. Before the 33-26 win over the All Blacks in Cape Town on 29 August, he started a front row picked from his replacements, saying a lighter front row suited a dry field.
Former All Blacks coach Sir Steve Hansen was among those who criticised that switch, Planet Rugby reported.
In Paris, Erasmus judged it on the scoreboard. “But as we sit here it didn’t work because we lost,” he said.
The Springboks play Ireland in Dublin next, and Erasmus has a week to decide whether the 2027 experiment carries on.
READ MORE: Rassie Erasmus: ‘We sort of played ourselves into that hole’
Watch Rassie Erasmus and Siya Kolisi’s full post-match press conference after France 21-19 South Africa:
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