The head coach blamed himself for Ellis Park, recalled Handré Pollard, and named the most experienced Springboks side in history.
Rassie Erasmus did not blame the referee. He did not blame his bench. Two days after South Africa were beaten 33-16 by New Zealand at Ellis Park, the head coach named his team for Saturday’s second Test in Cape Town and pointed the finger at himself.
The Rassie Erasmus second Test selection runs to four changes, with Handré Pollard back at fly-half and — if Siya Kolisi is passed fit — the most experienced Springboks side the country has ever picked.
Why Pollard and Reinach start
Pollard comes in at No 10. Scrum-half Cobus Reinach takes the No 9 shirt. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who started the first Test at fly-half, drops to the bench.
Erasmus said the two were picked to start the game and steer it, with Morné van den Berg and Feinberg-Mngomezulu held back to change it later. That is 141 caps of halfback experience replacing a pairing that had New Zealand under scrum pressure at Ellis Park but could not turn it into points.
It is a conservative call from a coach who has spent two years being anything but. Pollard has kicked South Africa out of trouble at two World Cups, and the logic is simple: win the territory, take the points on offer, and stop handing momentum back. Reinach brings tempo behind a pack that should again own the set piece.
“That’s on me” — Erasmus owns the defeat
South Africa led the territory count and still lost. Erasmus put that on himself.
He said kicking for points instead of packing another scrum, with the game in the balance, was the “wrong call” and that it was “on me.” South Africa made 11 entries into the New Zealand 22. They scored once.
“Most of the things we inflicted on ourselves,” Erasmus said.
That admission matters, because it frames everything else. This is not a coach reacting to a bad day by tearing up the plan. The Springboks squad barely moves; what changed are the decisions taken inside the 80 minutes.
The 5-2/6-2 split that backfired
Then the bench. For the first time in a long run, Erasmus said, the forward-heavy split that became the Springboks’ trademark had backfired.
When wing Kurt-Lee Arendse went off injured early, the reshuffle pulled the backline apart. Jesse Kriel moved to the wing, Damian de Allende to outside centre, and the shape never recovered. Erasmus called it “bad planning by myself.”
The fix inside the Rassie Erasmus second Test selection is cover rather than retreat. The split stays, but the backline replacements are picked so one injury no longer drags three other players out of position.
Kolisi and the one call still open
The only question left in the XV is at blindside. Kolisi is bracketed with Paul de Villiers and will start if he comes through training this week.
Erasmus kept captain Pieter-Steph du Toit in charge either way, so the leadership is set whatever the fitness call. If Kolisi is fit, de Villiers drops out of the 23 completely, not to the bench.
The most experienced Springboks side ever — if Kolisi plays
Add the caps up and the number is a record. With Kolisi in, the starting XV carries 1,012 Test caps, the most South Africa has ever fielded. Du Toit captains on his 100th cap, a week after de Allende reached the milestone.
The bench leans the same way. Wing Ethan Hooker comes in for the injured Cheslin Kolbe, Arendse switches to the right, and 39-year-old hooker Deon Fourie returns for the first time since the 2023 World Cup final.
Beaten by a younger, faster team, Erasmus has answered by going older.
What the Rassie Erasmus second Test selection means for the series
South Africa play New Zealand at DHL Stadium on Saturday 29 August, kick-off 17h10 SAST. Lose, and the four-match series is gone.
The All Blacks travel to a ground where the altitude equaliser disappears and the set piece counts for more. If the scrum squeezes again in Cape Town, Erasmus has all but said the points will come from the corner rather than the tee.
Full matchday 23: South Africa team for the second Test.
Rassie Erasmus second Test selection: your questions answered
Why did Rassie Erasmus recall Handré Pollard?
Erasmus wanted control from the start after South Africa failed to convert territory at Ellis Park. Pollard starts at fly-half with Cobus Reinach at scrum-half, while Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Morné van den Berg drop to the bench to change the game in the second half.
Did Rassie Erasmus blame himself for the first Test?
Yes. He called his decision to kick for points instead of scrummaging again the “wrong call” and said it was “on me.” He also admitted the 5-2/6-2 bench split backfired for the first time in a long run after Kurt-Lee Arendse’s early injury forced a reshuffle.
Is this the most experienced Springboks team ever?
If Siya Kolisi is passed fit, yes. The starting XV would carry 1,012 Test caps, a South African record. Pieter-Steph du Toit captains on his 100th cap, a week after Damian de Allende reached the same mark against the same opponent.
Why is Siya Kolisi bracketed with Paul de Villiers?
Kolisi is carrying a niggle, and his place depends on how he trains this week. Du Toit stays captain regardless. If Kolisi is passed fit he starts at blindside, and de Villiers drops out of the matchday 23 entirely rather than moving to the bench.
What is the Rassie Erasmus second Test selection in full?
Four changes to the starting XV: Pollard at fly-half, Reinach at scrum-half, Kriel back to his regular centre berth and Hooker on the bench for Kolbe. Kolisi is bracketed at blindside, and du Toit captains the side on his 100th cap.
