Rassie Erasmus says scrumhalves Embrose Papier and Ivan van Zyl will get another chance to impress for the Springboks against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
Erasmus confirmed on Monday that senior scrumhalf Faf de Klerk, who returned to the Sale Sharks last week, is unlikely to be selected for their final tour match.
That leaves the Bok coach with the choice between starting Papier, who impressed in the 77 minutes he got in his first start against Scotland, and Van Zyl, who started against England at Twickenham.
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Louis Schreuder has yet to get game time on tour as the third and sometimes fourth scrumhalf in the squad.
‘Faf is available this weekend, but we probably won’t use him,’ Erasmus told the media in Cardiff. ‘Faf is definitely a contender to go to the World Cup next year, but in the same breath we don’t have the luxury of 15 to 20 Test matches before the World Cup. We have five, including this one.
‘The way we have been trying to build momentum and get the winning feeling back, we had to rely a lot on Faf, but we feel the young boys in the squad are ready to take the step up and show what they can do, like Embrose did last week and Ivan did against England.
‘We want to play under a roof [at the Millennium Stadium], on a dry field, which is probably what the boys are more used to. Faf is more used to these northern hemisphere conditions. It makes more sense to give the two of them another chance.’
Erasmus says there was no issue with Sale regarding De Klerk.
‘Regulation nine is quite clear that we can draft the [overseas-based] guys in a Sunday before a Test match. We have a very good relationship with most of the clubs’.
Erasmus also confirmed that the Boks are hopeful that Eben Etzebeth will be fit for Saturday’s match and that a final call on the experienced lock will be made on Tuesday afternoon.
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