Jake White says SA Rugby has given Rassie Erasmus everything he needs to get the Springboks back to the top of world rugby.
In his latest column for AllOutRugby, the 2007 World Cup-winning coach said things had changed drastically in the past four months, with the well-prepared Springboks now expected to win their three-Test series against England, who have lost their last three matches.
‘For my very first Bok camp I was allowed to take 25 guys, which made it difficult when Hanyani Shimange stood on De Wet Barry’s foot, Ashwin Willemse did his knee in Kimberley and then Faan Rautenbach had to go for a knee op,’ wrote White. ‘Erasmus has been granted a 43-man squad and he’s been allowed to pick overseas-based players, even if they don’t have the minimum number of Test caps.
‘It’s great news if you’re a Bok supporter because, if you listen to what’s coming out of SA Rugby, all the pieces have been put in place to be successful from day one.
‘You have to compliment SA Rugby for doing what was needed – maybe we should also credit Allister Coetzee and the letter he wrote for motivating these changes. The positive communications from the camp are a complete turnaround from Coetzee’s term when he raised issues related to not having enough time to prepare for the Ireland series and not having his preferred staff.’
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