SA Rugby director of rugby Rassie Erasmus says they hope to expose young players to their systems in the week’s buildup to the Springbok Showdown.
A raft of Springboks, Blitzboks and Junior Boks made the cut in two 25-man squads after a live draft pick – the first of its kind in South African rugby history – for the Springbok Showdown in Cape Town on Saturday, 3 October, which will be played behind closed doors.
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The two squads boast 13 members of the World Cup-winning squad from last year in Japan, as well as some exciting young players.
Erasmus is the team commissioner for the Green squad, which will be coached by Mzwandile Stick, while Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber (team commissioner) and forwards coach Deon Davids (coach) will be in charge of the Gold squad.
During a virtual media conference on Monday, Erasmus explained that the key this week is to expose the young players to the Springbok culture.
‘We agreed as coaches that we are going to share a lot with the players in terms of the Springbok environment,’ Erasmus said.
‘We want to show them how we do things, how our analysis systems work – both in terms of our game and the opposition – and setting a goal of the day, which we recap at the end of the day.
‘We are also exposing them to the systems we use off the field, such as how players do their own analysis and plan the week in terms of time management, so there are several factors within the Springbok environment that we want the players to get used to.’
Zooming in on Saturday’s encounter, Erasmus said the teams’ style of play would differ to the Springboks’ usual style.
‘Our message to the players this week is that they should use this opportunity to understand the way we work.
‘What they don’t remember by Friday night they should forget, and they need to showcase their individual skills because that is what we would like to see. There won’t be a specific gameplan, so it won’t be a Springbok blueprint imprinted in the players’ minds.’
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Photo: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix
