Springbok Head Coach Rassie Erasmus says our first goal right now is Argentina
Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus made it crystal clear on Tuesday that the team’s first priority this week was to prepare as well as possible for their one-off clash against Argentina in Buenos Aires next weekend, but he said the game would play a crucial role in their planning for the forthcoming Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) series in August and September.The Bok squad assembled in Johannesburg on Sunday and had two days of training. They will enjoy a day off on Wednesday to rest and recuperate before wrapping up their on-field preparations on Thursday.The group will then return home for a few days, while the squad travelling to Argentina – which will be announced on Saturday – will travel to South America in two different groups that day, while the rest of the players will return to their training base in Johannesburg to begin their preparations for the four-Test series against the All Blacks.“First and foremost, we want to beat Argentina – just like every other team, we want to win every Test match we play,” said Erasmus.
“Then there’s the bigger picture, the Rugby World Cup, which is close to a year away, but you also have to respect the team you play next week.”With 10 players returning from a stint on the sidelines due to injury, Erasmus gave an update on the players’ availability for next week’s match-up against Los Pumas, who they have faced annually in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, and who are also participating in the Nations Championship.“There are only two guys who won’t be available due to longer term injuries, and they are Ox Nche and Franco Mostert,” said Erasmus.“Apart from them, everyone is ready to play. I wouldn’t say it is ideal (that they are all returning from injury now). We would have liked the guys not to be injured and to have been able to manage their time right from the start.“The same applied to André (Esterhuizen), Eben (Etzebeth), Wilco (Louw) and Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu), but this game is a really good opportunity.“Argentina are a quality team, and you’ll quickly see who is ready to play against New Zealand two weeks later. That said, this match wasn’t planned with that reason in mind – it was always about honouring our relationship with Argentina, but yes, most of those guys will be involved.”
When quizzed about how he planned to manage his squad going into the RGR series once the Argentina touring squad arrives back in South Africa, the Bok coach said: “The big thing is we don’t want to keep a guy with us and not use him during the All Black series. That’s why we’re giving some guys the opportunity to play for their franchises.“Taking players on tour without being able to give him a game for his franchise against the All Blacks would not be the right thing, but we also don’t want to release players if we’re not 100% sure we’re covered in those positions for the All Black Tests.“So as far as we can release players without jeopardising squad depth, we’ll try to do so. We might also still release more players from the group if they don’t get enough game time in the Springbok Tests.”
Erasmus kept the media on track with the team’s objectives, as opposed to looking too far ahead at the RGR series following the announcement of the All Blacks touring squad, and said they would delve deeper into their squad closer to the series against New Zealand.“I saw the squad was announced and had a brief look at it, but at this stage we’re all locked in for Argentina,” said Erasmus.“There’ll be a group that stays behind and starts focusing on them, because we can only take a certain number of players to Argentina. But in all honesty, I haven’t studied it (their squad) enough.“That said, it sounds like everybody’s really excited about the squad and the way they’ve played in the first three (Nations Championship) games, and we know it’s going to be tough, but Argentina is our first goal right now.”Erasmus is set to finalise his official RGR squad following the team’s return from Argentina.
