It wasn’t the result new Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus envisaged but the positive was he still managed to blood 13 new players to Test rugby in the 22-20 defeat against Wales in Washington DC.
The youthful and new look Springboks were outstanding in recovering from a 14-3 halftime deficit to lead 20-17 with just three minutes to go. But a bizarre ending, courtesy of a charge down kick that also deflected off a Springbok player resulted in Wales scoring a late try for victory. Erasmus was complimentary of the Springboks’s second half effort and also said that many players would get long-term benefit from having been exposed to the pressures of playing for their country for the first time.
They now know the different kind of pressure associated with playing Test rugby for South Africa. It isn’t Super Rugby, Pro 14 or Currie Cup. It is a step up mentally and physically
- said Erasmus.
The Bok coach will play an entirely different team against England in Johannesburg on Saturday, June 9, in the first of a three-Test series. He will then trim his squad of 42 to 32 for the remaining two Test matches.
Pieter-Steph du Toit, who captained South Africa for the first time, said there could never be satisfaction in a losing effort, but he echoed Erasmus’s words when he said the fact that so many young players got to experience Test rugby would benefit South Africa in the build-up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, and in some instances to the 2023 World Cup in France.
Seven new internationals started the match and six more were introduced from the bench. New cap wingers Travis Ismaiel and Makazole Mapimpi scored tries in their debuts.
